The Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) president La Sonja Harrison is calling for stronger water-trucking arrangements for schools affected by water shortages, as concerns about hand, foot and mouth disease add another challenge for schools.
Speaking at a recent JTA conference, Harrison stressed the importance of reliable water supplies in schools.
“Jamaica, water is life,” the JTA president said, describing water as “another basic requirement for education that should not require debate.”
She said water is essential for “drinking, sanitation, hand washing, meal preparation, cleaning and the health and comfort of students and staff.”
Schools, particularly in the corporate area have been experiencing disruptions because of inadequate water supplies. Harrison said when a school is forced to suspend classes because there is no water, “children lose instructional time, parents’ working days are disrupted, school feeding is affected and teachers cannot teach.”
The JTA says the issue has taken on an additional public health dimension as the Ministry of Health and other government ministries engage schools about hand, foot and mouth disease.
“The public health guidance is clear,” the Association president said. “Hand washing with soap and water, regular cleaning and disinfection are required.”
Harrison questioned how schools can be expected to maintain those measures without reliable access to water.
“One cannot on one hand tell a school, wash hands, clean, disinfect, strengthen infection control practices and on the other hand, leave the school wondering, when will the water truck next arrive?” the Association president said.
The JTA is therefore calling for “strengthened water trucking arrangements” and the examination of additional reliable sources of potable water.
Harrison noted that some parishes are not experiencing water shortages and suggested that water could be trucked from those areas to schools in affected parishes.
She is also proposing that schools affected by shortages receive dedicated emergency funding for water.
The JTA president said administrators should be able to “rapidly engage appropriate private suppliers when established arrangements cannot respond in time.”
The association argued that schools should not have to use money they already have to purchase emergency water and then wait for reimbursement.
“Put the emergency resources where the emergency is occurring,” Harrison said.
The call comes as schools continue to face the challenge of maintaining basic hygiene and sanitation while dealing with water supply problems.
The JTA president said reliable access to potable water is necessary not only for normal school operations, but also for maintaining the handwashing, cleaning, and disinfection measures being encouraged to limit the spread of illness in schools.