Five new high schools to be built

Education Minister, Senator Ruel Reid, says ground is to be broken shortly for five new high schools.

Addressing a meeting of the Standing Finance Committee in the House of Representatives on March 1, Reid said efforts will be made to have them completed within three to five years.

Reid noted that the education ministry will be seeking to remove schools from the shift system and that it will take a total of 17 new schools for this to be done.

He pointed out that the parish of St Catherine has recorded the highest number of schools still on the shift system with 40, including 10 primary schools, one all-age and four high schools.

“In region five (Manchester and St Elizabeth), we have four high schools still on shift; in the Montego Bay area,  we have three primary, three high schools; Brown’s Town has two primary, one all-age and five high schools; and in Port Antonio (Portland), we have two primary and three high schools,” he noted.

The education minister identified Kingston as having two high schools still on the shift system.