Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness has sparked fresh controversy after suggesting that Jamaican students forced to attend classes under trees following Hurricane Melissa could benefit from “learning closer to nature”, prompting a children’s rights organisation to warn that compromised learning conditions should not be romanticised while hundreds of hurricane-damaged schools remain under repair.
Speaking on Tuesday at Jamaica House during the launch of the Jamaica Reconstruction and Resilience Oversight Committee, Holness acknowledged that some schools were still undergoing repairs as the new academic year began. Referring to reports of students holding classes outdoors, the Prime Minister said he had enjoyed learning outside as a child because classrooms were often unbearably hot. However, he stressed that he was not attempting to excuse resource shortages, insisting that the Government’s responsibility was to address shortcomings, remove bottlenecks and accelerate repairs. Holness also argued that the recovery presented an opportunity to consolidate and rebuild schools rather than simply repair them.
The remarks have since drawn criticism from the Fi We Children Foundation, which said the suggestion that students were “learning closer to nature” risked presenting unsuitable learning conditions as something positive. The organisation argued that children attending classes in temporary facilities, near construction sites or in environments that may not meet appropriate health and safety standards should not have those circumstances portrayed as an educational advantage.
More than 600 schools were damaged by Hurricane Melissa, including over 300 that suffered severe damage requiring extensive rehabilitation or reconstruction. Education Minister Senator Dana Morris Dixon had already acknowledged that not all repairs would be completed before the start of the academic year, with temporary classrooms, rotational schedules and other contingency measures introduced. While the Government has committed almost $26 billion to school repairs and reconstruction, the Fi We Children Foundation is now calling for transparent timelines and stronger safeguards for affected students. With some projects expected to continue well beyond the initial reopening period, the debate has shifted beyond outdoor learning to a bigger question: should Jamaica view the crisis as an opportunity to reimagine education, or a failure that children should never have been asked to endure?
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