Handing out of textbooks set for Monday, says ministry
Published:Thursday | December 30, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Nadisha Hunter, Gleaner Writer
Grace McLean, chief education officer in the Ministry of Education, says the distribution of text-books in public schools should begin on Monday.
McLean said yesterday that the shipment of books has arrived in the island and is waiting to be cleared.
"There is a shipment on the wharf that we are waiting on to be cleared. We are now working through the logistics to see how that will work out," she disclosed.
This comes two weeks after the ministry had to move to allay fears about a critical textbook shortage in schools.
It was reported that hundreds of students in public schools across the island had been forced to either do without textbooks or share with classmates.
Audrey Sewell, permanent secretary in the ministry, had acknowledged the shortfall but said there was a submission before Cabinet to address the situation.
Sewell had explained that the setback was as a result of the price increase on books (in pounds sterling) from the prices at which they were calculated prior to the start of the academic year.
McLean told The Gleaner yesterday that, by the end of the week, the ministry was expecting that most of the schools would have received the books.
"I am now working with the suppliers in terms of where some schools are located to see how we can double up to ensure that we are able to get to all of the schools as quickly as possible."