Cats, bed bugs, odours force two school closures

Environmental issues forced the abrupt closure of Parkinson Memorial Secondary School and Eden Lodge Primary School on Tuesday. The shutdowns come amid reports of a cat infestation and suspected bed bug problem at Parkinson Memorial, as well as noxious odours at both schools.

President of the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT), Rudy Lovell, told Barbados TODAY that the situation at Parkinson was particularly severe, with “a cat infestation in a staff room… a suspected bed bug infestation”, alongside a persistent sewage smell. The school was closed early as a result.

Lovell further disclosed that the school was grappling with a staffing shortage, which has led to teachers frequently covering additional classes. In some instances, prefects have been tasked with holding classes in the absence of teachers. 

“We would like to see these matters resolved in the interest of the teaching and learning process,” he said.

In a notice to parents and guardians on Tuesday, the Ministry of Education announced that classes at Parkinson would be suspended on Wednesday to allow for a 9:30 a.m. meeting. 

“The BUT received a three-page letter from the school outlining issues this term,” Lovell said, adding that the union had forwarded the correspondence to the Ministry. “We are hopeful that coming out of the meeting we will have concrete solutions to address the problems.”

Eden Lodge Primary was also affected by strong odours on Tuesday, leading to its early closure. This marks the fourth instance this term where schools have suspended classes due to environmental issues. Since September 23, Grantley Adams Memorial has moved to online classes after odours disrupted the physical campus. On Monday, St Luke’s Brighton Primary also closed early due to an unpleasant smell.

BUT President Rudy Lovell. (FP)

But, the ministry announced that both St Luke’s Brighton and Eden Lodge Primary will reopen on Wednesday, following environmental tests that deemed the odours harmless. 

“Both schools had experiences with strong odours recently, forcing their closure. However, upon advice to the ministry, both schools have been cleared to reopen as the intermittent odours pose no threat to the health of students and staff at either institution,” the ministry said.

It said it will continue investigations into the disruptions at other schools and promised a more comprehensive report in due course.

Lovell expressed frustration with the ministry’s handling of the situation, particularly regarding the reopening of schools without sharing test results. “If schools are closed for reasons pertaining to an obnoxious odour in the environment and tests are carried out, teachers and students should not be asked to return to the class without the results of the tests being made available,” he said. “The results would allow teachers to get an understanding of the problem and feel more comfortable occupying the environment.”

The union leader then highlighted ongoing staffing issues at Gordon Walters Primary School in St Patrick’s, Christ Church where several teachers have reported sick, resulting in student teachers being asked to step in. (SZB)