Search for alternative for St John’s Primary students, staff amid calls for new school

The St John’s Primary School is to remain closed as the Ministry of Education searches for an alternative location on Wednesday — five months after confirmation that mould had reared its head at the rural school and after days of protest by students, teachers and parents.

Efforts are being made to secure a satellite facility so face-to-face instruction can resume on Monday, the ministry said, while teachers are to deliver lessons online.

Just after 8 a.m. on Tuesday, a number of parents and students demonstrated in front of the Glebe Land school with placards in hand chanting: “We are getting sick, we need the school fixed.”

Some of the cards read: “We Need a New School”, “Our Health Matters”, “No Lot of Long Talk, We Need Action Now!” and “Take Us Seriously”.

This protest followed several months of complaints by parents and teachers about the environmental issues plaguing the century-old, colonial-style school for more than a decade, which have been making educators and students fall ill repeatedly.

In a report dated June 23, environmental hygienist Ian Weekes confirmed that mould was a major problem at the school.

Last Friday, teachers refused to enter the classrooms and parents were instructed to collect their wards. On Monday, as teachers insisted that they were not returning to the classrooms, they were joined by parents who decided not to take their children to school.

After Tuesday’s protest, Nicole Gill-Wilson, who heads the school’s parent-teacher association, said parents were frustrated and disheartened that their children were being affected and suggested that the ministry was not taking the matter seriously. She added that parents wanted to join the teachers in solidarity and make a stand for the wellbeing of the students.

“We are here today because there have been ongoing actions at this school from last Friday,” said Gill-Wilson. “The teachers have not been entering the school due to the environmental concerns and the parents have been keeping the children at home. However, today we have decided to bring the children out in uniform, not to go to school, but just to take a stand because we are doing this action for them. And right now, we are feeling disheartened and we are frustrated that we have been made to take a stance and choose between the health and the education of our children.”

Promises were being made to address the matter even before the current administration first came into office, she added.

The PTA leader said: “I know that this school was previously earmarked to be closed down and demolished and a new school was supposed to be built south of the Thompson Health and Social Services Complex. This was with the previous administration and then we no longer heard anything about it once the administration was changed. So this is not a new issue; this issue was identified years ago.

“Our hope is that a new location would be established so the children can go on and get their education. Right now, this is exam period and our children are unable to set exams because they do not have a facility to do that. So we have teachers here who want to teach and we have children who want to learn, but we do not have the resources which we need- a safe facility to conduct the classes.”

President of the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) Rudy Lovell was also visiting the school while the demonstration was occurring. He said the environmental problem was not only affecting the health of the staff but the students as well, adding that he was pleased to see the PTA step up.

“The union is happy that the PTA of St John’s Primary School has taken the initiative to voice their concerns with regards to the environmental issues at the school. It shows that both parents and teachers have a similar interest in ensuring the health and safety of the students and ensuring that the delivery of education is done in a safe and healthy working environment. My intention is to support the teachers throughout the entire process and we will be here for as long as it is,” he said.

The union leader said the staff and students deserved a new school, as he urged the education ministry to “take the initiative to rectify the issue or to relocate the school”.

He said the complaints about St John’s have been going on for far too long and “nothing seems to be happening”.

“There have been remediations on several occasions but the result is basically that the environmental issues continue to plague the school,” Lovell said.

In a recorded statement on Tuesday evening, Deputy Chief Education Officer Joy Adamson said the ministry regretted the environmental issues the staff and students at the school had to endure.

“The ministry’s first priority is to finalise conversations with a potential new location for the rest of the term,” she said. “We are therefore actively pursuing an alternative location for Monday, December 4, 2023. While the ministry has made every effort to counter reported environmental concerns, since earlier this year, the school continues to be plagued with several structural issues.”

Adamson added that in October and earlier this month, an environmental hygienist, environmentalist and the education technical management unit visited the school.

She said that corrective work is done as issues are identified, adding that remedial work took place last weekend.

An air quality test and a test for mould were conducted on Monday, she said, and the ministry was awaiting the results.

Adamson assured the public that the issues affecting the school have been a frequent point of discussion among officials at the ministry and when the test results are provided a final decision on the way forward would be made.

The chairman of the BUT’s Health and Safety Committee, Julian Pierre, also expressed concerns about environmental issues at two other schools, the Ann Hill School in The Pine and The Lester Vaughan School in St Thomas. He said the union was also carrying out investigations at Luther Thorne Primary School in Wildey, St Michael following a recent sickout by teachers complaining of environmental issues

sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb