Local NewsSchool While B&G reopens, BUT concerns shift to St Philip school by Sandy Deane 07/05/2021 written by Sandy Deane 07/05/2021 3 min read A+A- Reset Share FacebookTwitterLinkedinWhatsappEmail 210 The Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) expressed concern Thursday about conditions at the St Martin’s-Mangrove Primary School even as in-person classes at the Blackman & Gollop Primary School went back on track. BUT Vice President Rudy Lovell who made the rounds at schools throughout the day told Barbados TODAY he was generally satisfied with his observations at Blackman & Gollop which underwent a major clean-up the day before. “On the inside, the students would have been engaged [in classes]. There is no presence of ash. I spoke to the principal she is satisfied. The teachers there are satisfied,” he said. But his next stop at St Martin’s-Mangrove was less assuring. Lovell said teachers there were grappling with a leaking roof and called on the Ministry of Education to address the matter urgently. He said: “The teachers have been catching water in buckets and obviously this is unsatisfactory, we would want this matter rectified as soon as possible. The plant is an old plant, obviously, we understand that but we don’t believe that in this modern era that teachers should be forced to catch water in buckets “So we are urging the ministry to rectify this issue as soon as possible.” You Might Be Interested In Crystal Beckles-Holder, 2nd runner up in regional competition GUYANA: Body of child found after gold mine collapses Barbadians asked to help with return tickets for Haitians The BUT executive, who said he would continue to survey conditions at the island’s schools, said teachers are happy to welcome their students back to the classroom but there were a few lingering concerns. He expressed concern about physical distancing in the classroom saying the BUT still has “an issue” with physical distancing rules which are set differently than in the national protocols. “For the most part that stipulates six feet for physical distancing but in education, it has been moved to three feet and obviously that is a concern for us,” he told Barbados TODAY. He also stressed the need for more frequent cleaning at schools in light of last month’s volcanic ashfall. Lovell declared: “Obviously the ash is going nowhere. For a school like Blackman & Gollop that is an open-air [school] you would appreciate that when outside is dry, you’re going to get dust blowing up the air, which means you will have to continually clean the school and we know that over the past year or two the ancillary staff was reduced at some schools so that may pose a problem in terms of cleaning.” Minister of Education Santia Bradshaw said Wednesday that during the course of the term, additional staff would be hired to do ongoing cleaning especially for those schools with decorative ‘breeze blocks’ or where there are more susceptible to the flow of dust from the outside. Lovell further suggested that now was a good time for a maintenance plan to be developed for schools. “Not only for cleaning but for general maintenance,” he said. “What is happening at St Martin’s-Mangrove should never be allowed to happen and if it is that we are waiting on the contractors to get materials or whatever the case maybe it means that that may be a prolonged period and having a proper maintenance plan would alleviate all these issues.” (SD) Sandy Deane You may also like Man shot dead at house in St Andrew 04/12/2024 Accused remanded until Friday 03/12/2024 Men guilty of manslaughter; sentence pending 03/12/2024