Fed up with the environmental conditions plaguing the institution and the lack of satisfactory action to address their concerns, placard-bearing parents, guardians and a handful of students came together to show their disapproval and bring awareness to the school’s plight.
Our boys deserve better!
This was the cry of several concerned parents who gathered across the street from the Milton Lynch Primary School early yesterday morning to stage protest action.
Fed up with the environmental conditions plaguing the institution and the lack of satisfactory action to address their concerns, placard-bearing parents, guardians and a handful of students came together to show their disapproval and bring awareness to the school’s plight. In addition to the demonstration, parents also collected signatures for a petition, which they say will be given to the Ministry of Education.
They complain that the health of both teachers and students of the Milton Lynch Primary is being affected by the unsanitary and unhygienic conditions, including a dirty, dusty school plant, termite infestation, rodents, cockroaches, pigeons and even monkeys invading the compound. The boys’ bathrooms are also in a state of disrepair, with many toilets missing seats or out of order. In addition, the fencing has been compromised, making it easy for stray animals to wander on to the premises.
And while acknowledging that the courtyard, corridors and stairways of the school were power washed recently, parents say that more work is needed. They revealed that the inside of the classrooms weren’t cleaned, there are still rats and roaches on the compound and the cow itch still remains.
“The [Education] Ministry said they were going to deal with the cow itch problem over the past weekend, and it wasn’t done … Nothing has been done with the cow itch,” one parent who spoke on condition of anonymity lamented.
“I joined the protest today to represent the teachers and the children of Milton Lynch Primary School,” said Sasha Reece, whose child is in Class 2. “I believe that we need a better environment for our children…to learn.”
She stated that their cries for help appear to have fallen on deaf ears from those at the Education Ministry. “It seems like we have been under the shadows … like they have forgotten us,” she said, as one nearby protester pointed to the fact that other primary schools on the island have had their problems addressed, citing St James Primary, Ann Hill and Blackman and Gollop as examples.
Another protester told The Barbados Advocate, “We really have had enough and our boys are just as important as anybody else. This is the only all-male primary school here in Barbados and they really need to do more to help these boys. We are cricket champions, we’re chess champions, and that is what we achieved with what little resources we have. I believe that more can be done and more must be done!”
“There’s only so much a parent can do … this school needs help and we need help now!” (LS)