There will be no classes at St Luke's Brighton Primary
School on Tuesday while air quality tests are done at the Melverton, St George
institution which was forced to close early for the second time this term due
to environmental issues.
The Ministry of Education said the closure on Monday came
after complaints of a potent odour that left some of the school's occupants
"experiencing burning eyes, itchy throat, itchy skin and a bitter taste in
the mouth".
Ministry officials visited the scene after staff and pupils
were relocated to a nearby car park. Following consultations, the decision was
made to close the school for the remainder of the day.
"During interviews with those who were on the site from
the morning, it was revealed that the scent was at its strongest during the
early parts of this morning," the ministry said. "Tests will be
performed tomorrow morning, October 15, to glean further information on the air
quality. Therefore, there will be no in-person classes tomorrow."
President of the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) Rudy
Lovell expressed satisfaction with the ministry's swift response and called for
a thorough investigation into the source of the odour.
"The BUT is hopeful that the matter can be speedily
resolved," Lovell said. "We note this is the second time for the term
that this school was impacted by an obnoxious odour and we want a thorough
investigation done in identifying where the odour may be coming from."
Noting that the ministry sent an industrial hygienist to
carry out tests, he added: "We welcome the fact that the ministry is
seeking to find out what is affecting the school."
Parents and guardians collecting their children expressed
concern about their wards' well-being.
One parent who arrived at the school around 10:30 a.m. said:
"I was concerned but I put two and two together and I told myself it got
to be the [odour] because whenever the rain falls this happens."
A grandparent voiced longer-term concerns: "I've been
told about a number of situations that have been plaguing the St Luke's Primary
School for a long time and being here to collect my grandchild, I have been
told that the teachers were experiencing burning in their eyes and face and a
lot of them were sick. They were complaining for a long time and nothing was
done."
The grandparent added: "Hopefully some action would be
taken for the children, cause for a little while, I have been called to pick
him up due to respiratory conditions and I don't think that based on the time
it was happening, it could have come from something stirring in the air. I
think the conditions would have to be pretty bad for this to be
happening."
No comments:
Post a Comment