Workmen busy trying to get the new classroom ready at the Steer Town Primary and Junior High School. - Norman Grindley/Chief Photographer

The Education ministry has rushed to address reports about space concerns at the Steer Town Primary and Junior High School in St Ann.

The school has yet to start classes for 115 new students who were placed there based on their performance in the Grade Nine Achievement Test (GNAT) and, up to yesterday, construc-tion of additional classrooms was still under way while the recruiting of teachers for the new students started on Monday.

Situation not chaotic

However, Minister of Education Andrew Holness is adamant that the situation should not be described as chaotic.

"I find that statement to be real untrue and communicates a position that is really not true," Holness said during a hastily called press conference at his ministry's Heroes Circle, Kingston offices yesterday.

"It is a problem, but there is no chaos because we have put in place programmes to manage it. If it were the case that parents didn't know what the programme was, the principal didn't know and the board didn't know, then I wouldn't need to come here, I would just be quiet and accept the criticisms," added Holness.

Uniform colours school's concern

He said the 115 students were not being placed in grade 10, as reported, but were being made to repeat grade nine, as is normal for the majority of students placed based on their GNAT performance.

Holness downplayed the fact that the new students are slated to wear blue tops, while the grade-nine students at the school now wear white tops. According to the education minister, that was the decision of the school's administration.

He noted that the education ministry had previously made public the problems it was facing in placing GNAT students, and said the 115 were sent to Steer Town Primary and Junior High because of the well-publicised space constraints. The additional students push the school's population to 1,200.

"The ministry has been battered too many times and we didn't defend ourselves but, in this instance, we have done what we should have done," claimed Holness.

According to Holness, the 115 students could have fallen through the cracks if space was not created at Steer Town Junior High for them.

The education minister was supported by his permanent secretary, Audrey Sewell, who said discussions had been held with the management of Steer Town Primary and Junior High School as part of efforts to find space for the GNAT students.

"We had an arrangement with the school to place 85 GNAT students ... when we were through with the placement of the 85 students we recognised that we had 20 additional students that needed placement," Sewell said.

"Meetings were held with the region director and the principal and also the board chairman, because we could not leave these children unplaced."

She said the students were placed in the Special Empowerment Programme (SEP) and the school provided a list of the additional items which it would need to accommodate them.

The SEP was developed by the education ministry in 2005 to help students operating below mastery at the GNAT stage.

According to Sewell, the school's request for additional personnel and equipment was granted, including $1 million to prepare a temporary structure.

"The regional director also met with the parents to explain what happened," added Sewell.

The education ministry also downplayed the fact that the students had already missed almost two weeks of the new school year, and expressed confidence that they would begin classes next Monday as scheduled.

The ministry officials said the temporary structure being constructed was 90 per cent complete and should be ready in time to meet the Monday start date.