Petrina Francis, Staff Reporter

The Ministry of Education and Youth has begun disbursing cheques to some schools which were damaged by Hurricane Dean. The ministry says that all schools would reopen on Monday when the officialschool year begins.

However, at least one school said it might not be able to reopen on Monday because there were no toilet facilities for students.

"We expect that all schools will begin on Monday," Lauriston Wilson, head of the Technical Services Division at the ministry, told The Gleaner last night.

$700 million repair bill

Hurricane Dean, which lashed the island last month, damaged some 350 schools and left the Ministry of Education and Youth with a $700 million repair bill.

Mr. Wilson said the ministry this week, started disbursing cheques to primary and all-age schools with damage amounting to less than $1 million.

The Portia Simpson Miller Cabinet last month approved an "emergency procurement" for schools with damage under $4 million.

However, some schools with damage over $4 million will have to wait a while longer as they have to go through the procurement process.

Schools were scheduled to reopen on September 3 but this was pushed back because of Hurricane Dean and the rescheduling of the general election.

Maurice Bogle, one of the vice-principals at the Yallahs Primary School, told The Gleaner that the ministry had removed the fixtures in the students' bathrooms and promised to replace them, but that had not been done.

Mr. Bogle said that a decision would be made today about whether classes would be resumed as the ministry had promised that it would take two days for the bathrooms to be repaired.

When The Gleaner visited the school yesterday, the toilet fixtures were strewn on the ground.

Staggered system

Meanwhile, not all students will be in class at the Donald Quarrie High School in east Kingston when it reopens on Monday.

Flood waters from storm surges damaged a retaining wall at the school and water gushed on to the school compound and damaged six classrooms.

"We will have to start school in a limited way and roll over some grades," Reford Hinds, principal of the Donald Quarrie High School, said.

Henoted that grades seven and 11 students would operate on a staggered system until the ministry repaired the damaged classrooms.

The school is also without electricity, but Mr. Hinds said the downed poles and wires were being fixed, in an effort to restore electricity to the institution as soon as possible.

petrina.francis@gleanerjm.com