Environmental Concerns Impact Teaching and Learning at Ann Hill School, Barbados

The teaching and learning process at the Ann Hill School was impacted on Tuesday as teachers refused to enter the classroom.

Chairman of the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) Health and Safety Committee Julian Pierre told Barbados TODAY the 22 educators were protesting the environmental issues affecting the Pine Plantation Road, St Michael school, which are partly due to dust generated during the construction of a nearby fire station.

He said the school did not close early as teachers supervised the students outdoors.

“Teachers at Ann Hill did not return to the classrooms today [Tuesday] because they [the rooms] were not industrially cleaned. There is evidence of dust on windows, books and equipment,” Pierre said. “This level of cleaning cannot be done by the janitors and we note that some teachers are ill. Teachers are also concerned that with special needs students in this environment, they too may be affected but are not able to communicate such as other students would have.”

On Monday, Pierre told Barbados TODAY that the school was heavily impacted by the ongoing construction adjacent to the school. He said a lot of dust was in the classroom, the teachers could feel the vibrations from the heavy-duty equipment and the noise was also disrupting classes and affecting the students. He also said work to replace ceiling tiles was inadequately done as the new tiles had water stains and there were many that were not replaced. The school was also to be treated for mould.

Deputy Chief Education Officer Joy Adamson and other ministry officials met with the staff on Tuesday afternoon after school to discuss their concerns.

Following the talks, Pierre said: “Workmen returned to school to redo the missing ceiling tiles and they fixed the leaking ones. We were told the issues in the hall – roof repairs and electrical fixtures – would be dealt with outside of school hours. We were promised that industrial cleaning would take place tonight [Tuesday night] so we will assess the classroom conditions in the morning.”

He said that during the meeting, teachers also expressed concerns about violence in the school.

“There is violence among the student body and students towards staff. Staff are being threatened and there is violence towards teachers when they part fights. What is also concerning is that ministry officials seem to be unaware of the violence which suggests that the matter has been underreported to the ministry,” Pierre said.

The ministry has promised to give a statement later.

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