JTA wants Education Ministry to address water challenges in schools

The Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) is calling for the Ministry of Education to address water challenges in schools.

While commending the ministry for its response to the issue at the start of the school year in September, JTA President Owen Speid told a press conference on Monday that some institutions continue to face water woes.

Last year, a number of schools grappled with water challenges due to drought conditions across the island.  

“They have responded fairly well but there are several schools out there that are still struggling, they are really struggling,” Speid said.

He said schools, particularly in St Elizabeth, are still purchasing trucked water “out of their own coffers."

Speid pleaded for the ministry to ensure that schools are supplied with water.

“The schools that are in that Nain area - the Austin Primary, Nain High School, Warminister and there are some other schools in that vicinity, they are crying out for water,” Speid said.

He noted that most schools are equipped with water tanks and that the ministry has also supplied some independent institutions with tanks.

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