Lawrence, Dixon and Tabannor

A MASS exodus of children from preparatory schools and subsequent placement in primary schools has prompted the Ministry of Education to import portable classrooms to deal with the fallout of further overcrowding in public schools across the island.

The global economic meltdown has dealt a severe blow to hundreds of Jamaicans who have either lost their jobs, or are being forced to cut back on spending. In some cases, financial support from relatives abroad has been reduced, due to economic austerity.

To this end, some parents are scurrying to find public-school spaces to transfer their children to this September.

Jasper Lawrence, chief education officer in the Ministry of Education, told The Sunday Gleaner that the ministry had received reports of parents pulling their children from private schools in Manchester and St Elizabeth, as a result of the fallout in the bauxite sector.

Corporate Area reports

Lawrence also revealed that similar reports had been received for Corporate Area schools.

"There are classrooms that we can transport to where the space is needed, so we will be importing portable classrooms from South Florida," Lawrence told The Sunday Gleaner.

He said a team had visited South Florida to examine the classrooms and had approved them.

"We are now making shipping arrangements for a set of 25. We will not be caught napping, because we have contingencies in place," Lawrence stated.

He also revealed that the ministry was moving to ensure adequate staffing for primary schools.

Basil Tabannor, president of the Jamaica Independent Schools Association (JISA), said the institutions were struggling to keep afloat in the economic climate.

forced to increase fees

He said that some schools had been forced to increase their fees and parents were having a hard time paying.

"There are indeed serious indications that parents are unable to deal with the school fees and are going to the primary schools," Tabannor told The Sunday Gleaner.

He said he was unable to give the specific number of parents who were pulling their children from prep schools, but indicated that the problem was widespread.

Tabannor pointed to a prep school in Manchester which had some 400 students on roll late last year; however, upon Tabannor's return to the school, it was revealed that more than 100 had left the school between January and April. The school had increased its fees by 40 per cent.

"It's a serious thing for the operation there. It is not going to be a regular September morning," Tabannor lamented.

high level of uncertainty

Tabannor painted a worrying picture of the challenges that the sector was encountering, citing a high level of uncertainty, and administrators being unsure how to move forward for September.

"Many of our schools are faith-based schools, but we wonder how they will fare in September," said the JISA president.

The JISA has approached the Ministry of Education for assistance; however, Tabannor said the association is yet to hear from the ministry.

The chief education officer said the ministry was examining ways to assist private schools.

Doran Dixon, president of the Jamaica Teachers' Association, confirmed the report of parents pulling their children from preparatory schools.

"We have been told by some of our colleagues that there have been parents coming to the schools seeking transfers, and these transfers are not from the primary schools,' said Dixon.

The Sunday Gleaner has been reliably informed that at least one Corporate Area preparatory school, which increased its fees in April, has decided to roll them back for the upcoming September term.

petrina.francis@gleanerjm.com

How one parent bit the education bullet

Janet Brown (real name withheld on request) was a mid-level employee in a thriving private-sector entity for 12 years and had registered her child in one of the top preparatory schools in St Catherine last September.

The school fee was not an issue, as this was her only child in school and, even without his father playing a part, she could comfortably afford the $27,000 every term.

But three months ago, the bottom fell out of Brown's world after her company told her that she would be one of more than 30 persons sent home because of the economic meltdown.

After a period of feeling sorry for herself, Brown took stock of her expenses and decided that spending had to be cut.

"At the top of the list of expenses which had to go was the prep-school fee which worked out to $81,000 for the year, with another increase possible come September," Brown told The Sunday Gleaner.

After looking around, she managed to get her son accepted at a top primary school, also in St Catherine, where she will now pay $3,000 for the year.

"I have cut other spending, and even though I always wanted him to attend a prep school, the economy dictated. I had to transfer him," Brown told The Sunday Gleaner.