There is a strong reiteration for the Government to seriously implement measures to deal with the heat and its potential impact on schools.
Minister of Education Fayval Williams had recently announced that a pilot to retrofit and install air conditioning units in thirty schools is to get underway soon to reduce the stress on students amid rising temperatures.
The Minister had also said greater use of solar energy in schools is being considered as part of the project.
President of the National Parent Teachers’ Association of Jamaica,, Stewart Jacobs, told Nationwide News that says the Government should treat the situation as an emergency given the dangerous ill-effects that the heat can have on children’s health and learning.
Mr Jacobs is acknowledging that addressing the challenge may involve an increase in budgetary allocation to the Ministry of Education.
Against this background, he wants the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) and other private sector companies to partner with the Government to reduce the air condition bill in schools as well as reduce the costs to retrofit institutions to deal with the heat.
Stewart Jacobs, President of the National Parent Teachers’ Association of Jamaica.
