Ocho Rios High takes in visiting students but halts transfers

Principal of Ocho Rios High School, Marvin Clowson, says that while the school willingly accepts students from other schools during the disruption caused by Hurricane Melissa, the school will not be accepting any transfer requests at this time.

Ocho Rios High was one of the schools that reopened on November 10 following the directive from the Ministry of Education, with the institution escaping the onslaught of the hurricane and regaining electricity that same week.

With several schools still unable to function fully after being incapacitated by the hurricane, a number of students from other schools are currently sharing space at Ocho Rios High.

"We have quite a large number of other students here," Clowson revealed. "We have a large number of students from Westwood High School in Stewart Town, Trelawny, from St Hilda's High School in Brown's Town, St Ann, and in smaller numbers we have students from Knox in Spalding, Clarendon, from Mount Alvernia in Montego Bay, St James, and even from Maggoty in St Elizabeth. Quite a few schools are represented. Some days we have over one hundred in terms of visiting students."

These students are allowed to sit in classes of similar grades and share the teaching and learning experience, but they will eventually have to return to their original schools once normalcy is restored.

"The thing I have not done and have no intention of doing is to work on any transfer at this moment," the principal said.

"Several parents would have come to me and I told them no. A disaster would have happened, they belong to a school, they are just fitting into the gap for the time being. As soon as things are ironed out, they have the opportunity of going back to their school. So we are not dealing with any transfer at the moment."

Meanwhile, although Ocho Rios High has been reopened for three weeks, some students have still not returned to school, a possible indication that their households have not fully recovered from the effects of the hurricane.

Clowson said persons from the school went out to find students who did not report to school and located some. Some of those located have since returned, while others have yet to do so.

There are still others who have not been located.

- Carl Gilchrist

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