Minister of Education and Youth Fayval Williams says it will cost $1.5 billion to install surveillance cameras in primary schools across Jamaica.

While addressing the JTA’s 59th annual conference today, Williams said that an assessment has determined that each school would need a minimum of 16 cameras to ensure full surveillance of the premises.

The assessment follows calls from the Jamaica Teachers Association (JTA) and other stakeholders to install security cameras in the aftermath of the tragic murder of Danielle Rowe, a student of the Braeton Primary and Infant School, who was kidnapped from the institution and her throat slashed by her kidnapper. The institution had limited surveillance to help the police identify the perpetrator.

For this school year, Williams disclosed that cameras are to be installed in 15 schools, which will each be outfitted with enough cameras to ensure the security and safety of students and staff.

“We’ve done the survey as well of existing schools that have cameras to see whether they are working or not, and we’ve identified those schools with their cameras how many are working, how many are not working, so we’ll move to fix those,” said the education minister.

Additional cameras are also being procured for the Braeton Primary and Infant School located in St Catherine.

The Ministry of Education had installed eight cameras at the institution in the wake of the murder of eight-year-old Rowe. However, Williams said an additional eight cameras were needed to cover blind spots identified during an assessment.

The Grade 2 student was reportedly abducted from school in June. She was later found by a member of the Jamaica Defence Force with her throat slashed and rushed to the Bustamante Hospital for Children, where she succumbed to her injury.

No arrests have been made so far, but investigations are ongoing.

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