Eden Lodge Primary closes on first day due to ongoing works

he first day of the school year at Eden Lodge Primary School was cut short on Monday after it was discovered that major maintenance work, including on the school’s septic tank, was still in progress when students showed up for classes.

 

The work, which began over the summer break, led to the closure of the school shortly after 9 a.m.

 

Parents were asked to return to the school to collect their children after it became clear that normal classes could not continue for the rest of the day.

 

Speaking during a tour of Springer Memorial Secondary School, Chief Education Officer Ramona Archer-Bradshaw expressed surprise at the situation.

 

“While on tour, I understand that there was an issue at the Eden Lodge Primary School. I was not very clear about what the issue was so we deployed the Deputy Chief Education Officer with responsibility for schools there to try to address it,” Archer-Bradshaw told journalists at the time. “I am still awaiting details relative to what is happening at the Eden Lodge Primary School. Suffice to say, we had an update from the Director of the Education Management Unit, Francisco Miller very early this morning and he indicated that the schools were ready to go.”

 

Later in the day, Acting Deputy Chief Education Officer Julia Beckles issued a press release apologising for the disruption and explaining that the ministry had been assured by the Education Technical Management Unit that the school was ready to receive students. However, after reports from teachers and parents regarding the school’s condition, Beckles and her team visited the site and confirmed the concerns.

 

“Consequently, we closed today at 1 p.m. to allow those matters to begin to be addressed. We are hopeful that the school would be ready to be reopened on Wednesday… to allow the teaching and learning process to continue,” Beckles said.

 

Industrial cleaning of the septic system is scheduled to take place on Tuesday to ensure the school is ready for the resumption of classes.

 

There were also no classes at the Christ Church Foundation School.

 

The ministry had indicated on Sunday that there would be a delay in opening because there was concern about the state of readiness for both students and teachers.

 

The issues were discovered when members of the teachers’ unions conducted a walk-through of the school. There were concerns about a distinct odour of adhesives and other chemical agents, and “the readiness of the Physics lab, the staff rooms and certain specialist rooms that require certain finishes and the subsequent industrial cleaning”.

 

The opening of the school was therefore postponed on September 23. In the interim, plans are in place to facilitate online teaching from Tuesday to mitigate any learning loss, the ministry said.