The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

EDUCATION Director Lionel Sands said that officials were monitoring a situation in Moore’s Island, Abaco, in which parents reportedly barred their children from attending school on Monday to protest the failure to repair the island’s school over the summer.

As scores of parents across The Bahamas prepared to return the children to the classroom for the start of the public school year, parents in Moore’s Island, bearing placards, staged a protest at the island’s all-age school.

“Fix our bathrooms now” and “classrooms hot, we need air conditions now” were just two of the complaints on the placards about the condition of the school’s campus and classroom.

Photos of cracked tiles, exposed light switches and deteriorating bathroom stalls were shared via Facebook.

Commentary on the photos ranged from disbelief that a school could operate in such a poor state, all the way to unrelenting criticism of educational officials for their lackadaisical approach to repairs on the island.

Discussing the issue with The Tribune, Mr Sands expressed a level of grief over the “avoidable” nature of the situation.

Mr Sands’ office was notified last Friday that plumbing repairs being carried out at the school would be delayed as the contractor was not able to secure supplies in a timely fashion.

According to Mr Sands, once the issue was acknowledged, officials offered parents on the island an assurance that the repairs would reconvene on Monday and be concluded shortly there after.

“The repairs are being carried out as we speak,” said Mr Sands.

He added that the needed supplies were purchased in the United States on Friday, and would have been shipped to the island for use by yesterday.

“The contractor is on the job correcting a plumbing issue at the school. One bathroom facility is affected by this ordeal. There are several other bathrooms that can be used in the interim,” he added.

When asked why the repairs were carried out so late, Mr Sands deferred comment to the Ministry of Works.

“I cannot answer any questions on why repairs are being carried out this close to school as the Ministry of Works is responsible for all school repairs across the country.”

In August, Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald indicated that school repairs faced major setbacks due to an unexplained halt in the Ministry of Works’ annual “scope of repairs” report.

The Marathon MP proposed that repairs would cut “very close” to the start of school.

Mr Fitzgerald contended at that point, that his ministry, to offset any further delay, was forced to hand out contracts without having a chance to evaluate their need - “to see what was a want as oppose to a need,” he said.

Operational procedures mandate that the Ministry of Education receive the “scope of repairs report” by May, allowing officials to award contracts by the middle of June.

However, this year, officials were not given the document until July.

There were no other major issues reported by the Department of Education to mark the start of the new academic year.