A parents’ advocate urged the Ministry of Educational Transformation to improve contingency measures and communication with families over delays in school repairs, after at least three institutions faced disruptions at the start of the Michaelmas term – even as she commended the officials for their efforts to reopen most schools on time.
Spokesperson for the Group of Concerned Parents of Barbados and coordinator of the Caribbean Coalition for Exam Redress, Paula-Anne Moore, said it was clear that the ministry worked “overtime” to complete repairs across dozens of campuses, despite a relatively short summer window.
She said in a statement: “It is noted that there are certain schools which were unable to open as expected this week. The team at the Ministry of Educational Transformation should be commended for working overtime over a relatively short summer period to ensure that as many schools as possible are open to welcome their students, teachers and other staff at the commencement of the school year.
“With the best will in the world, unexpected developments in renovations and refurbishment can occur.”
Her comments come as the ministry responds to issues at several schools, including Wesley Hall Junior, where 161 Class 3 and 4 students are being relocated after parents raised concerns about poor ventilation and overcrowding at a temporary site at Whitepark Road; Frederick Smith Secondary, where classes were dismissed early on Tuesday and will remain closed for a few days to allow for the completion of repair works; and Princess Margaret Secondary, which was also closed to students on Wednesday following concerns over readiness.
Moore said such disruptions reinforce the need for timely and transparent communication, especially when unexpected issues emerge during renovations.
“Solution-oriented lessons learned should underline the importance of timely communication and coordination with parents and teachers in contingency planning,” she said.
“Kudos to the affected parents who felt empowered or courageous enough to publicly voice their reasonable concerns, either individually or via school PTA representatives.”
She acknowledged the efforts being made by the ministry and school staff to prioritise safety, but said more agile response mechanisms should be built into the ministry’s long-term transformation strategy.
“All education stakeholders have at their forefront the health and safety of our nation’s children, and of course, teachers and other school staff. A collaborative effort will ensure that this objective is achieved.”
Moore recommended that a core pillar of the ongoing education reform should be strengthening school infrastructure readiness, not just physically but through systems and planning.
“It is suggested that the strategy of educational transformation has, as a key pillar, with respect to school infrastructure, the review and repositioning of the ministry’s resource capacity, budgeting and deployment of funds, and communication with key stakeholders, to make crisis response more agile,” she added.
“This is one element to ensure that the success of education transformation can be optimised.” (SM)
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