President of the Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union (BSTU), Mary Redman, complimented Ministry of Education officials for the additional bathroom facilities for the girls at Combermere School.
The environmental issues at Combermere School were real.
Yesterday, Richard Harrison, Project Manager in the Education Project Implementation Unit (EPIU), led an inspection of the Waterford, St. Michael campus, indicating to senior officials of the Ministry of Education, Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union (BSTU), Combermere’s Parent Teachers Association, Old Scholar’s Association and staff, what were the problems, what has been done and what else needs to be done to rectify them.
The Ministry of Education closed the school in November, 2016, after continuous complaints by teachers and students of unpleasant odours which caused them to become ill.
After the close to four-hour long visit to the school, which included extensive talks between the parties, it was decided that classes will resume today.
“I don’t know if all the issues are finally resolved, but I am satisfied that the work that has been done, will put us firmly in the right direction,” Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Senator Harcourt Husbands, told members of the media.
“We know that the students, their parents and staff of Combermere school have gone through some challenging times recently. We too sympathise with their plight, but problem solving is like this – you attempt one thing, and if it doesn’t work, you attempt another, and you keep going at it until you resolve the issues.”
BSTU President, Mary Redman, gave the assurance that Combermere teachers are ready to commence classes, even though they recognise work is still on-going.
“It is only the main building where the work has been completed, and we were shown areas where work is still to be completed. Given all of that, the teachers have decided in good faith to return to the school, and in so doing test the environment.”
“The team of experts said the environment can best be tested when it is occupied. Therefore, to know the effectiveness of what they have done, it has to be tested with persons present at the plant. So, they are coming back to work... they are coming to test the environment,” she said.
According to Redman, all the complaints by students and staff were true: “They were valid, and that was evident by the amount of work that has been done given the findings by the expert team”.
Since the school’s closure, wells were sealed, pipes extended and mould removed – an extensive industrial cleaning carried out.
“I think the teachers certainly cannot be blamed for the closure of the school. They did not cause the environmental problems and it has been shown that the environmental problems are real. They have been real and they have been addressed.”