PEP prep under threat as Hague Primary waits for infirmary relocation
Jamaica Gleaner | 2025-12-02 | Original Article
Dameian Elvin, principal of Hague Primary and Infant School in Trelawny, says his hands are tied regarding the resumption of classes at the institution, confirming that a post-Hurricane Melissa temporary infirmary continues to commandeer the property, effectively keeping classrooms locked down.
Elvin, who said some parents are on edge about potential learning loss, noted that the matter is “sensitive”, given the two vulnerable groups involved.
“We would love to be in a position to open, but the sensitive nature of it is that we still have the infirmary here, which has our hands tied. We have to wait on them. We can’t kick them out,” the principal said.
The school serves as the primary shelter for the approximately 80 social cases and patients, three of whom have died at the institution since the passage of the Category 5 hurricane.
Hague Primary and Infant is Trelawny’s largest primary school, serving about 1,000 students across five classes per grade.
“It’s difficult to cohabit with them and the children because they require the bathroom space; and it’s a little bit ticklish, because sometimes the bathroom might not carry what parents and children expect, and I don’t want them to also speak negatively of them. So it’s best to keep them apart,” he said.
Elvin said the plan is to repair the damage to the infant department and bring in grade-six students, who are preparing for their final series of Primary Exit Profile (PEP) exams.
“My hands are tied. Our hands are tied, in the sense that while we want the children to come back, [and] if the infirmary wasn’t here, I probably could force the issue and do [grades] four, five and six, but we still do not have any electricity,” he said, though adding that some schools are operating without it.
“We don’t want anybody to lose any kind of learning, but at this time, grade six will be better served. I would have loved to have them out earlier, but we’re just doing the best we can right now,” the principal said.
He said the temporary infirmary means that the full resumption of classes will not take place before January.
Elvin said he is aware that at least eight of his students are attending other schools in the area, following a directive from the Ministry of Education.
The ministry activated the host school initiative to assist students whose institutions have been severely damaged and not yet reopened following the passage of Hurricane Melissa on October 28.
Further, Elvin said the ministry has revised the curriculum for PEP, but argued that schools not yet able to resume will still be at a disadvantage, pointing to schools in the Corporate Area which reopened days after the storm.
Added to that, Elvin said he does not expect to see a full return of the population, noting that many families have been displaced, especially in Hague Settlement, where a significant number of students are from.
He said the school has rallied support from overseas to assist families with rebuilding.
Elvin said that assistance will be extended to staff, noting that six teachers lost roofs during the hurricane.
Meanwhile, Trelawny Municipal Corporation Chairman Collen Gager said the patients and residents of the infirmary will be relocated to a new facility by January.
He said four containers will be retrofitted for a new infirmary in the vicinity of Cornwall and Victoria streets.
“So, work is being done with our technical team to make sure that in the shortest possible time, these container-fitted apartments are placed there, and they will be used to house the people,” he said.
“This will be a modern facility; so we can say that the Trelawny Infirmary has finally found a home,” Gager said.
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