The Lester Vaughan School will be closely monitoring developments on campus over the next two weeks as senior year students prepare for important exams, the head of the school’s parent-teacher association Sheena Headley has told Barbados TODAY.
Starting on Tuesday, students preparing for Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and City and Guilds exams will have the opportunity to go over work with their teachers and get assistance with school-based assessment, she said.
Headley said: “The school plant opened on Monday but the instruction from the principal was that teachers will take children from Tuesday. She said teachers would reach out to the students so we will wait and see if any classes are held tomorrow (Tuesday) as teachers should be indicating from tonight if they will be at the school.”
President of the Barbados Union of Teachers Rudy Lovell said he would be meeting with teachers on Tuesday to discuss the ministry’s decision to reopen the school and allow them to express any concerns they have about the latest air quality test and environmental report which stated that volatile organic compounds were below the threshold.
Last Friday, during a nearly three-hour meeting with Lester Vaughan School parents and officials, held at Queen’s College in Husbands, St James, questions were raised about the environmental tests conducted at the school which has been plagued with air quality issues. Chief Education Officer Dr Ramona Bradshaw-Archer said she would meet with the technical team at the Ministry of Education, analyse all the input from the teachers and other members of staff as well as the parents, and make a decision on the way forward for the school.
BUT President Rudy Lovell. (FP)
The ministry subsequently said in a statement that the school had been cleared to reopen its doors to students, teachers, and staff, as of Monday to allow for in-person teaching, the completion of practical activities and the library facilities during the Easter vacation so students can continue to prepare for their external examinations.
“After reviewing the reports and consultations, the Ministry of Health and Wellness and the Ministry of the Environment could find no evidence to substantiate the continued closure of the school,” it said, adding that a comprehensive report explained by environmental expert Ian Weekes “revealed that there were no emissions at the plant, and all volatile organic compound levels were below the threshold for safety”.
“After analysing the reports for the smoke test and the air quality, followed by a tour of the plant, both the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of the Environment are satisfied that the plant can be reopened, and pledged to continue working with the Ministry of Education to examine the wider environment outside of the school,” the ministry added.
“Having been furnished with the results of two independent reports, received the assurances of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of the Environment, and having consulted with trade unions, teachers and parents, the Ministry of Education is satisfied that the school can be reopened for students, teachers, and staff.”
However, some parents reported being confused about the school’s reopening. One parent told Barbados TODAY: “I am at a loss. If the teachers don’t go, how can we send our children?”
Another parent declared: “Obviously they are not interested in the health of the children, teachers or non-teaching staff. They admitted the tests they did would only be accurate if the classes were full, they were not. We established that if the staff is sick and the children are sick that it shows they are issues. I am completely at a loss of how they came to this conclusion after the meeting on Friday.”
(SZB)
