Ministry says schools will be ready to open; BUT not impressed

inister of Education Kay McConney has announced a significant shift in repairs to the island’s schools, moving from a summer-only programme to a year-round system.

The change aims to address the growing infrastructural needs of schools whilst reducing disruption to the academic year.

As she guaranteed that all public schools will be ready for opening next Monday, McConney reported that the previous approach of concentrating all repairs during the summer break had proven insufficient.

She said: “This year, there were 26 schools that were part of what we call the summer programme, but a significant shift that you will see going into this new school year is that we are shifting from this approach that we have used for years when we try to stuff all of the repairs for schools into a summer time.”

The new programme will extend throughout the academic year, with work being done on weekends and after school hours to avoid disruption.

The education minister emphasised that the ongoing works “will not pose any impediment to teaching and learning, that they do not pose any health and safety challenges at the school, and that the communities in which the work will be done are properly notified in case there may be any inconvenience during that time”.

Updating the public on the current status of repairs,she explained that most schools were nearly complete, although some projects were delayed due to supply chain issues.

Francisco Miller, director of the ministry’s education technical management unit, confirmed that “the majority of the schools are either completed or close to completion”.

To reassure parents and staff about the possibility of incomplete repairs disrupting the school year, McConney explained that contingency plans were in place.

“If for whatever reason things outside of our control should happen, our chief education officer will be putting in place alternative arrangements,” she said. “Schools will be open on time on Monday, and in the event that other work needs to continue, they will be subsumed as part of the year-round programme.”

When questioned about stakeholder consultations regarding the new repair programme, McConney acknowledged that discussions with principals and teachers had taken place but admitted that broader community involvement needed to improve.

To address this, the ministry has appointed Wanda McLean as stakeholder manager. Her primary responsibility is to ensure regular and transparent consultations with schools and communities.

Miller confirmed that consultations had indeed been held with school staff:

“We consulted with the principals as well as the teachers. We met with the teachers and the principals in terms of doing the work in terms of when we prepare the scope of works and whether we can do the scope of works within the allocated time period vis-à-vis the summer programme.

“We would have consulted the principals and the teachers, but we did not consult the community. So that is something that we would have Ms McLean do to sensitise the community on what we are planning to do…. We will take into consideration not to disrupt the community in terms of work being done [such as] the noise level and stuff like that.”

Despite some delays, Miller sought to reassure the public that these issues would not prevent schools from opening on time.

However, President of the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) Rudy Lovell was critical of the ministry’s handling of school preparations for the new term. He expressed disappointment that some schools were still undergoing heavy-duty cleaning and maintenance.

“We still believe that schools should have been ready for this Sunday that just passed,” he told Barbados TODAY. “I went to a school today. This is probably the third or fourth time I’ve been to that school, and it has had a specific problem that was rectified on at least six occasions, and the problem still exists.”

The union leader raised concerns about the potential health risks to teachers who are now expected to work in environments undergoing industrial cleaning.

“We are concerned about the quality of work, the timing of work, and the fact that work is still being done in some schools. All of that work should have been done to facilitate the entry of teachers this week…. This week is planning week, and teachers are expected to be on the compound a week before students,” he contended.

Lovell warned that exposure to cleaning agents and dust during “all this cleaning” could affect teachers’ health and their ability to attend school next week. (RG/EJ)