Learning time lost to cow-itch

A significant amount of productivity is lost when cow-itch affects schools, says President of the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) Rudy Lovell.
He says not only were students losing learning time, but parents, who had to leave their jobs to pick them up when schools close, are also losing hours of productivity at their various workplaces.
He made the comments while speaking to Barbados TODAY on Thursday as he once again urged landowners with vacant lots near schools to keep these cleared of the bothersome vines.
“I cannot overemphasize it enough, this is a serious inconvenience to both students, teachers and even parents who would have to venture to the school to collect their children. We would want to encourage or impress upon those landowners who have lots that are unoccupied and that are overgrown with bush and cow itch to continue to clear them to keep the lots clear, to reduce the the prevalence of cow-itch and the effects it can have on the student population,” he added.
Last week, All Saints Primary in St Peter, Mount Tabor Primary in St John, and the Blackman and Gollop Primary and Thelma Berry Nursery schools in Christ Church closed their doors as some teachers and children began to experience allergic reactions to the environmental problem.
Lovell said that while most of the affected schools had reopened on Monday without any issues, a minor hiccup was encountered for the staff and students attending the Thelma Berry Nursery School.
“The occupants were still affected as while the debris was cleared from the outside, there was still residue on the chairs and desks inside the school. So it was industrially cleaned on Monday evening after school and everything was back to normal on Tuesday morning,” he stated.
(JB)