Salvation Army School for the Blind reopens after temporary dorm closure

The Ministry of Education is reporting that classes have resumed at the Salvation Army School for the Blind and Visually-Impaired in St Andrew following the closure of the dormitory facilities for the recent mid-term school break.

The school is a grant-aided institution owned and operated by the Salvation Army.

As a grant-aided institution, the Ministry provides salaries and subsidies to the institution annually.

This amount includes support for boarding.

As the only school for the blind and visually impaired in the island, the school caters to children from the early childhood to the secondary level.

The school, therefore, operates a boarding facility, which accommodates students who are from parishes outside of Kingston.

The education ministry outlines that students spend the majority of the school term in the boarding facility and usually return home for major holidays such as summer.

The Ministry explains that, over the recent mid-term break, the Salvation Army decided to close the boarding facility for the mid-term break.

“While this is not always the case during shorter breaks, several reasons were cited for this closure, including a broken water main at the institution. The decision however did not have the full support of the school’s administration since several students were identified who would be challenged in either getting home or returning after the break due to financial or other challenges. Despite these concerns raised by the school, the decision was taken to close for the mid-term break,” a spokesperson explained in a statement today.

The ministry says dormitory has since re-opened, however, and as is customary after a break, only about 10% of the students had returned for the resumption earlier this week.

It says checks made today revealed that more than 90 % of the students are now back in boarding.

It says the Salvation Army has not advised the Ministry of any intention to close the boarding facility.

“It should be noted however that closure of this facility would result in displacement of students who would not be able to access the school since they do not reside in Kingston and as such, the Ministry has been in dialogue with the Salvation Army to ensure the facility remains open in the best interest of the students,” said the spokesperson.

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