EDITORIAL

Throughout the course of the school year in Barbados, there are expected interruptions in the calendar, such as sports days, speech days or graduations. Unfortunately, it seems as if there is another kind of disturbance that has been added to the discourse – the environmental kind. The latest victims are students and teachers of the Blackman and Gollop Primary school and Thelma Berry Nursery, which were forced to close for several days after cow itch severely affected operations – and even more recently, after bush fires prompted the school to be closed.

The regularity with which some schools on the island are affected during school hours is disturbing. Whether it is indiscriminate burning (Luther Thorne Memorial Primary School); sewage problems (St. Lawrence Primary); smoke (Wesley Hall schools); undefined odours (Combermere) or pigeon droppings (Ellerton Primary), the list is varied as it is vexing. These issues affect the health of staff, teachers and students and disrupt children’s instruction, in some cases, derailing progress towards important, promotion exams such as Barbados Secondary Schools’ Entrance Examination or Caribbean Examinations Council.

Years of repeated environmental problems have untoward consequences. Louis Lynch Secondary School is perhaps the unfortunate poster child for the worst that can happen, where an institution closed for good, and the school’s name is forever linked with the myriad health problems that people on campus suffered.

Though parents are understandably disgruntled when they have to collect their charges in the middle of the work day or scramble to make alternate arrangements to ensure their safe-keeping if school is closed for an extended period of time, we commend the swift action of schools who call for parents to collect their charges off the compound in the event of environmental difficulties. However, it is clear these issues need urgent attention. Barbados is a small island, but we believe that our citizens are still very much solution oriented. It is time that the best brains come together and pre-empt environmental challenges before they occur.

In some cases, continued problems have resulted in the temporary relocation of students, staff and teachers; despite the inconvenience, at least it has meant that valuable education is in train. Unfortunately, as the name suggests, it is only transient until a long-term resolution is fixed. There is little one can do about large bush fires, unless the person who has lit the fire is apprehended and dealt with to the fullest extent of the law. However, other issues that require maintenance must be handled, including involving knowledgeable persons in the community who may be able to chronicle the
history of the area and can best advise on how to proceed. It has been determined, for example, that the cow itch problem is not solved by burning or cutting of the plants alone, since the pods survive fire and regrow.

Resource personnel from the Ministry of Education and handymen within the school must collaborate to identify and solve persistent challenges faced by schools so that regular maintenance on and off the school compound is scheduled accordingly.

Above all, let us recognise that being proactive is much better than reactive. Whatever the difficulties are, we must band together to effect lasting change and solve these recurring problems for good.