JAMAICA-JTA stands its ground on students being exposed to sex by persons at hurricane shelters.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – President of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA), Dr Mark Malabver, Thursday, defended his statements regarding students being exposed to sex by Hurricane Melissa victims who are still sheltering in some schools.

“This matter is not about personalities, bruised egos, public relations, or political theatre. Neither is it about the Ministry of Education being left embarrassed by recent revelations. It is about duty of care, credible risk, and the protection of children and educators within spaces designated for learning,” Malabver told a news conference.
President of the Jamaica Teachers Association, Dr. Mark Malabver.

And as he addressed Thursday, the final day of the JTA’s 2026 education conference, Malabver said he was disappointed with the Ministry of Education’s call for him to name the schools where such incidents have reportedly occurred.

He told the audience that the calls were a diversion from the need to remove shelterees from schools months after Hurricane Melissa’s passage on October 28 last year.

“The JTA has raised clear, documented, and repeated concerns regarding the use of school compounds as shelter facilities while those same spaces are being used for teaching and learning.

“These concerns were formally communicated to the relevant state authorities, including the Ministry of Education, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management, and the Ministry of Local Government. These were not speculative; they were grounded in credible reports, professional judgment, and the association’s unambiguous responsibility to act where risk is identified,” said Malabver.

Earlier this week, Education Minister Dana Morris Dixon said the allegations are of such gravity that they must be treated with utmost urgency and specificity and that the government has since launched an investigation into the matter.

“Any allegation of inappropriate behavior in a shelter environment, particularly where children may be affected, is a matter of the greatest seriousness. I was shocked to hear Mr. Malabver make the public allegation for the first time in a public address. I hope he made formal reports to all relevant authorities before doing so.

“Nonetheless, I am urging Mr. Malabver to urgently share with the Ministry any reports, details, dates, locations, or other information in his possession so that these matters can be fully investigated without delay,” she said.

Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie has since called for evidence to support claims made by the JTA president, adding that the allegation had not previously been reported to his ministry, which has been in communication with the JTA regarding shelter conditions for nearly 100 displaced individuals.

McKenzie has asked that any supporting evidence be provided to the police, who are investigating the matter.

But Malabver told the audience: Let it also be stated without ambiguity that I, Mark Malabver, have personally raised concerns with the Minister of Education during a telephone conversation around March 17 or 18. During that conversation, I told colleagues that the reports we were receiving were true and that they violated the Child Care and Protection Act. The Minister’s response was, ‘Tell them to report it to the police,'” Malabver added.

He also told the news conference that any suggestion that these concerns were not brought to the ministry’s attention is wholly inaccurate.

“They were not speculative. They were grounded in credible reports, professional judgment, and the association’s unambiguous responsibility to act where risk is identified,” Malabver said, adding, “specific issues and concerns were also raised in our monthly meetings of the Ministry of Education and in letters.”

Malabver said the ministry’s attempt to rely on the absence of “formal reports” or “confirmed incidents” is not only inadequate but “it is dangerously dismissive,” adding, “child protection does not begin at confirmation; it begins at credible concern.”

He told the news conference that it was equally troubling for the Minister of Education to request the name of the police station where reports were allegedly made, as well as the identification of the school involved.

“That request was also made by the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Kasan Troupe. Such requests are most inappropriate and misdirected, and they betray a fundamental misunderstanding of how sensitive matters of this nature must be handled.

“It is not the role of the JTA to conduct investigations, nor to expose sources or institutions to scrutiny that may compromise the safety of teachers and students and due process. Neither are those roles vested in the Minister of Education or the permanent secretary.

“The JTA will not divulge confidential information to the Minister of Education, the permanent secretary, or the Minister who, I believe, is supposed to be in charge of local affairs and, by extension, the shelterees.

“None of these offices is the legally designated authority to investigate matters of this nature. We will not facilitate the disclosure of sensitive information to unauthorized individuals, nor will we expose educators to risk under the guise of administrative inquiry,” said Malabver, flanked by several educators, including president-elect La Sonja Harrison.