Jamaica Shifts Focus to Learning Recovery After Hurricane

When all of Jamaica's schools reopened after Hurricane Melissa, the headlines celebrated a quick return to normal. But opposition education spokesman Damion Crawford is asking everyone to look deeper.

Speaking to the Rotary Club of Kingston on Thursday, Crawford argued that the national conversation is stuck on "learning loss" when it should be racing toward learning recovery. The distinction matters more than it sounds.

"After learning loss, there is a need for a plan for recovery," Crawford told the audience. That plan could mean anything from summer sessions to repeating grades to adding vocational training that gives students practical job skills.

The reality behind those "all schools open" headlines tells a more complex story. Some schools operate only a few hours daily because electricity hasn't been restored to remote areas. Others run on rotational schedules, with students attending just three days per week.

Crawford pointed out the obvious math problem. If five days of school were already barely enough, how can three days possibly work? Many principals already felt students needed more time before the hurricane hit.

Chief Education Officer Terry-Ann Thomas-Gayle confirmed Wednesday that while all 1,010 schools are technically open, 58 schools across the three hardest-hit regions still operate on rotation. Infrastructure damage, electricity restoration, and water tank replacement remain major hurdles.

Crawford warned that without structured recovery, Jamaica risks creating a generation less prepared for productive work. The consequences would ripple through the entire economy for years.

The Ripple Effect

This push for recovery over rhetoric shows how disaster response is evolving. Crawford's emphasis on concrete solutions like vocational training and targeted summer programs offers students multiple pathways forward, not just a return to struggling through the same system that wasn't fully working before.

His call for public and private sectors to unite behind education funding recognizes something important: recovery investments made now prevent much costlier problems later. Students who fall behind don't just hurt themselves; they impact workplace productivity, innovation, and economic growth for decades.

Jamaica is choosing to be honest about the challenge and ambitious about the solution.