By Monique Hepburn, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU
MORE THAN 3,000 primary and high school places will become available in St. James this September with the opening of three new schools, which were constructed under the North West Jamaica Schools Project. This is expected to ease the severe shortage of school places in the parish.
This announcement was made by Mr. Vincent Guthrie, regional director at the Ministry of Education Region 4, at a press conference in Montego Bay last week. According to the education official, the new schools that were poised to come on stream are the Irwin High, Irwin Primary and Success Primary Schools. Collectively, the three schools will provide placement for 3,450 students.
"In September, Irwin High School, Irwin Primary and Success Primary will come into operation in St. James," Mr. Guthrie announced. "We want the parents and the various stakeholders in the region to be able to make informed choices in terms of the placements of their students."
DEMAND FOR SPACE
In commenting on the impact the new provisions will have on secondary education in St. James, Mr. Devon Ruddock, senior education officer, explained that efforts to provide secondary education in the Montego Bay area posed several challenges, as there is a significant demand for space.
"In Montego Bay, there is need for over 8,000 spaces at the grade seven level and so the new high school will help in alleviating the space problem," Mr. Ruddock said.
According to Mr. Guthrie, the school fees for Irwin High will be on par with existing high schools in the parish. He added that he is confident that all three schools will be staffed with competent teachers. When it opens, Irwin High will cater to 1,350 students.
Mrs. Hillary Foster, Senior Education Officer for Primary Education, lamented the current lack of space in existing primary schools in St. James. She is contending that parents living on the outskirts of Montego Bay, often chose to send their children to schools in the city. However, she advised parents to utilise the new primary schools as schools in Montego Bay were now out of space.
"We are out of space and we are encouraging parents to start registering their children in these primary schools," Mrs. Foster said, while noting that each new primary school will accommodate 1,050 students.
The construction of the schools began last year and was completed in approximately nine months. Under the Northwest Jamaica Schools Project, Region 4 will receive 13 schools. The schools were constructed at a cost of $3.5 billion dollars. The project will end in 2005.
