The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

A GRAND Bahama primary school was without electricity for two straight days this week with no word to parents, according to one parent who said children were left to learn in the dark.

When The Tribune visited Hugh Campbell Primary School on Mahogany Street, Freeport, yesterday, there was still no power. The administration office doors had been propped open, apparently to let air into the building. Classes had not been dismissed and students were outside for lunch.

The parent, who wrote to The Tribune this week, said they discovered the outage while dropping their child off on two consecutive mornings.

“When this becomes a repeated issue, parents deserve some communication and reassurance that the matter is being addressed,” the parent wrote.

The parent said classrooms without power lacked proper lighting and ventilation, and that while unforeseen problems happen, families should not be left in the dark about them.

“Our children’s education, safety, and well-being must remain a priority. We need answers, and we need to know what measures are being taken to ensure that our children can learn in an environment that supports their needs,” the parent wrote. “Concerned parents deserve to be heard.”

The school’s principal was not on campus yesterday, and The Tribune was directed to the district superintendent or the deputy director at the Ministry of Education. At the ministry’s offices, a reporter was told education officials were in a meeting with school principals.

Deputy Director of Education Michelle Bowleg said in response to messages that the Director of Education would issue an official statement last night. At press time, no statement had been received, and neither Director of Education Dominique McCartney-Russell nor Bahamas Union of Teachers president Belinda Wilson had responded to requests for comment.

It is not clear what caused the outage or whether it affected only the school.

The complaint comes amid wider frustration over power problems at government schools since classes resumed in September. Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Chester Cooper has called outages “an inconvenience” and said the ministry does not immediately send students home when the power goes off, but tries to continue instruction.

Opposition deputy leader Shanendon Cartwright has repeatedly demanded to know what contingency plan the ministry has to keep schools running during prolonged outages.

Hugh Campbell Primary has lost power before. In June 2014, it was among 18 public schools in Grand Bahama disconnected by the Grand Bahama Power Company over more than $1m in unpaid government bills, before the Ministry of Finance settled the debt.