Oversight committee established to monitor repairs of school damaged by Melissa —Morris Dixon

KINGSTON, Jamaica —An oversight committee has been established to monitor the rehabilitation of schools damaged by Hurricane Melissa. The committee, named the Hurricane Melissa School Infrastructure Recovery and Resilience Oversight Committee, will be chaired by prominent attorney-at-law Rochelle Cameron. The announcement was made by Minister of Education, Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon, during Wednesday's post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House. According to Morris Dixon, the committee's goal is to ensure "accountability, quality assurance and transparency across the repair, rehabilitation and reconstruction of public education facilities affected by Hurricane Melissa." She noted that more than 300 schools were severely damaged by the Category 5 hurricane, which made landfall in southwestern Jamaica on October 28, 2025. In total, nearly 700 schools sustained some level of damage. "We're starting with the 300 severely damaged schools, getting those up," Morris Dixon said, noting that some will require entirely new buildings. "Some of these are going to go into next year and some, I figure, will go into the following year." The committee has been established for an initial period of one year to provide independent accountability mechanisms. Morris Dixon said this will ensure she receives "on a routine basis, independent assessment of the progress [being made] and Jamaica can also get that independent assessment." Under its mandate, the committee will review and interrogate regular progress reports from the National Education Trust (NET). Its remit includes monitoring project status, schedules, expenditure, quality, safety, defect risks and contractor performance, with a strong focus on quality assurance. The committee will also be tasked with identifying delays, defects, capacity constraints and unresolved approvals, and will engage contractors and other partners to address challenges. It will make recommendations on sequencing, corrective measures, contractor performance management, quality improvement and risk mitigation. "They're a really important partner because at the end of the day, what we want is a school infrastructure system, at least in those areas, that is better than what obtained anywhere else in Jamaica," Morris Dixon said. She noted that repairs are so far estimated to cost $26 billion. "It's a big deal and it signals the importance of education so it's important that we spend it properly," she said. The committee also includes Chairman of the Factories Corporation of Jamaica, Lyttleton 'Tanny' Shirley. —Lynford Simpson