Garwin Davis, Gleaner Writer

OCHO RIOS, St. Ann:

A near-fatal accident at a preparatory school in Ocho Rios, St. Ann, where a kindergarten student landed hard on rocks following a nasty fall from atop a playhouse, has again raised questions regarding school safety.

Some parents are concerned that students are not properly supervised, especially during play hours, and are fearful that an incident similar to what happened at the Mar-Jam Preparatory School could happen to their children.

"It gives me the shivers to think about the little girl at Mar-Jam and how easily she could have been killed," commented Simone Roberts, a concerned St. Ann parent. "It goes to show that when students are dropped off at school there is no telling as to what will happen until the time to pick them up."

Nearly a month ago a four-year-old girl fell from atop a playhouse on the compound of Mar-Jam, where she suffered a broken nose, a fractured skull, and a fractured optical skull. She had to be airlifted by a Jamaica Defence Force helicopter to the Bustamante Children's Hospital in Kingston for treatment. She is currently recuperating at home.

Negligence ruled out

The Ministry of Education has since launched an investigation, through its oversight department, to see whether the accident was a result of negligence. Mar-Jam, in a letter to the ministry, has described the incident as 'unfortunate', and has already declared that its internal investigation has ruled out negligence.

"When I heard about the Mar-Jam incident the first thing that came to my mind was the question of safety," said Pamella Turner, a St. Mary parent who has two children enrolled in prep schools in St. Ann. "You would assume that when you drop your kids off they are safe but I guess that the Mar-Jam incident was a wake-up call for all of us. It disturbs me, though, that the school has sought to distance itself from all blame. Why was a kindergarten student allowed to climb atop a playhouse? Isn't that a dangerous thing to do?"

Marlise Adian-Singh, a teacher at the Boundbrook Primary School in Portland, said: "Accidents happen all the time but it is a given that once the student is on the compound, and during school hours, we are responsible."

Sharon Wolfe, director of communications at the Education Ministry, while agreeing that schools - whether public or independent - are responsible for the well-being of students, said parents also have an important role to play in ensuring that they are leaving their children in a relatively safe school environment.