PRICE PRESSURE

The escalating cost of raw materials is putting pressure on the Ministry of Education’s furniture-making programme, under which six secondary schools have been contracted to repair or build new desks and chairs for the upcoming academic year.

Damion Lawrence, vice-principal of the St Andrew Technical High School, told The Gleaner that the school was forced to make cuts to its workforce because of the increasing production costs, which, he said, are largely a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of the Ukraine-Russian war.

“Where we would have spent like $4 million to procure material for the project in 2020, the same material in 2022 was something like $12 million, so that’s the challenge,” he said.

Nonetheless, Lawrence said that even with a reduced workforce, the school is only 171 desks and chairs short of its target for September.

“We would have already distributed 179 desks and chairs. By this week, we are putting out another 130, and within the next two weeks, we are trying to see if we can put out another 600, so we may fall [a little] short of the 1,250 desks and chairs by September,” he said.

Burchell Simmonds, project manager and head of the Engineering Department at Vere Technical High, said he had to find creative ways to address the rising cost of raw materials. Each time he goes to get new stock, the prices are significantly higher.

“I would normally buy 500 lengths of metal [to make the frames for the desks and chairs], but then I realised that based on how fast the prices are moving, I now have to start buying, like, 1,000. I would want to buy more, but due to the [limited] space for storage, I have to just settle with the 1,000 for now,” he said.

Simmonds stated that the Clarendon-based school was able to meet its quota of 1,250 desks and chairs last year. This time around, it was awarded a contract for 2,000 desks and chairs and has manufactured close to half of that target.

Dr Kasan Troupe, acting chief education officer in the Ministry of Education and Youth, said that 11,000 pieces of furniture are to be produced under the contracts for the upcoming school year. So far, 10,012 pieces of furniture have been manufactured, she revealed.

Alphansus Davis High in Clarendon, Muschett High in Trelawny, Belmont Academy in Westmoreland, and Brown’s Town High in St Ann are the other schools engaged in the project.

Touting the programme’s value to the school’s community, Simmonds lauded the ministry for the initiative and is advocating for its continuance.

“We have several welders who work with us who are from the community, and teachers who are on board are also awarded an honorarium, and other workers or other members of staff would have taken part in this project and would have benefited as well,” he said.

Additionally, he said that students who participate in the programme not only get more practical experience, but they are paid a stipend of $2,000 per day, and have developed a “greater appreciation” for the furniture as well.

He said that Vere Technical has also been approached by other schools to manufacture furniture for them, but “the ministry’s target is a great one, so we have to spend most of the time focusing on that for now.

“It is the plan of the school, where we see the opportunity to make some additional funds, then we will capitalise on that,” he added.

Lawrence also shared similar sentiments. He told The Gleaner that 50 per cent of the work on the production line is done by students who gain significant experience.

“When it comes to subjects that are competency-based, it’s a win-win for the school,” he said.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com