President of The Bahamas Union of Teachers Ida Poitier has alleged that some schools, especially those on the Family Islands, have not seen repairs in at least six years.
But Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Education Veronica Owens said on Monday that teachers should pay closer attention to students who vandalize school property.
Asked to respond to calls made from time to time for Minister of Education Alfred Sears to resign, Ms. Owens said while she did not feel that Minister Sears, who is also attorney general, is over-stretched, she supports the idea of the Education Ministry having its own Minister.
Mrs. Poitier told The Bahama Journal that schools like George Town Primary in Exuma have not been repaired in years and that students have been taught in trailers for that entire time.
She further alleged some teachers in San Salvador have been operating out of a church on the dock for a year.
Mrs. Poitier said teachers have complained that the church site has no barriers, leaving students vulnerable to the elements as well as an unsafe dock and even predators.
She said the situation in many Family Island schools is “a major problem”.
“Daily, complaints are being faxed in, mainly about the physical structures of the schools. San Salvador, Andros, Crooked Island, Abaco, and Grand Bahama are all problem areas as far as disrepair. I just received faxes from Long Cay and Exuma, both complaining about how bad their schools are.
“Things are not what they should be in our schools.”
Education officials have faced a number of complaints in the first week of the new academic year with teachers at several New Providence schools walking out of the classrooms in protest of what they called unacceptable or unsafe working conditions.
Teachers at the C.W. Sawyer Primary School, for instance, staged a sit-out at the Harrold Road school.
They were protesting against an incomplete wall that would separate the campus from the busy thoroughfare. Without this wall, students would not be able to go outside for breaks, and teachers would have to sacrifice their breaks to remain with students, the teachers said.
Concerns about a lack of repairs at the C. C. Sweeting Junior High School also led to a two-week protest and students at the Carlton Francis Primary School are attending classes at various sites because of similar problems at their school.
Speaking generally about the conditions of some schools, Ms. Owens said, “The problem that we are having is a lack of discipline and this may be an appropriate time to look at the management of these children in the classroom.”
She added, “The government through the Ministry of Education is having to do the same repairs over and over and over. For example, when the louvers are being taken out of the windows, where are the teachers? Why are the teachers not supervising the children and why do we have to do minor repairs repeatedly? That money could be spent on improving the overall structure of the school.”
Ms. Owens added that the ministry has 160 schools to manage.
Repeating a sentiment that was expressed last week by Minister Sears, Ms. Owens pointed out that her Ministry depends on the Ministry of Works to carry out the repairs.
But she said the Ministry of Works is overwhelmed.
However, while a guest on the Love 97 programme “Jones and Company” on Sunday, Minister of Works and Utilities Bradley Roberts said that he wished not to play the blame game and does not draw swords with his colleagues.
He noted that the challenge of maintaining and repairing schools is a great one and said the government has a multimillion-dollar plan to carry out such work at schools throughout The Bahamas.
By: Perez Clarke, The Bahama Journal
