School resumes at three churches

Some of the students at the Lawrence T Gay Memorial School who have been affected by “chemical” odors have already been relocated.

The decision to move was made following a meeting with officials from the Ministry of Education and parents last week.

President of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) Steffanie Williams told Barbados TODAY three churches; Sharon Moravian, Grace Hill and Christ the King had been identified to accommodate the children.

She said the students moved to their temporary locations from Tuesday. Class 1 students have been relocated to the Grace Hill Church in Spooner’s Hill, St Michael, just a stone throw’s away from Lawrence T Gay Memorial, while students from Class 3 were now at the Sharon Moravian Church in St Thomas.

Williams said Class 2 students would transition to Christ the King Church in Rock Dundo, St Michael from June 7.

She said the students had so far settled into their new environments.

The PTA president said no timeline had been given as to how long the children would remain at their new locations.

“The Class 3s are in a much better environment. They have room to play and I haven’t heard about any complaints so I would say that it is ok. I’m not really sure about the Grace Hill location and how the students from Class 1 are coping, but I will believe that the situation is much better than what they were experiencing at school,” Williams told Barbados TODAY.

“We all are just hoping that the situation is resolved so that the children and the teachers as well, can be in a healthy and conducive environment.”

President of the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) Rudy Lovell said that while the union had not been invited to the meetings he was aware of the planned relocation.

The Ministry of Education is still continuing its investigations into the foul odor which has disrupted classes at the Lawrence T Gay Memorial’s compound where teachers and students have complained of being affected by sewage and gas odors.

During a site visit just over a week ago education minister Kay McConney promised that the Environmental Protection Department would be extending its investigations into the neighbouring communities after no evidence of contamination was found on the school’s compound.

This is not the first time Lawrence T Gay Memorial has been affected by environmental issues.

In November last year parents and students staged a protest outside of the school’s campus. At the time they claimed that students and teachers were falling ill as a result of the foul odors at the school.
randybennett@barbadostoday.bb