The Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) is calling for a public town hall meeting to openly address concerns about school readiness, summer maintenance works, and what the union maintains were repeated breakdowns in communication with the Ministry of Educational Transformation.
First Vice President Julian Pierre told Barbados TODAY on Thursday that the Ministry’s recent claim that the BUT raised no objections prior to the start of term was inaccurate.
He presented a list of schools the union considered unprepared as of September 1, citing ongoing construction, unfinished cleaning, and unresolved safety issues.
“Looking at my list based on schools, over 30 per cent of the schools that had summer work done to them were not ready,” Pierre said.
He also pointed to what he described as repeated breakdowns in communication, including decisions made without union consultation.
One example was the relocation of Class 3 and 4 students from Wesley Hall Junior School to multiple sites, including Westbury Primary and St Leonard’s Church, while repairs continue.
“The ministry sent correspondence to the principal and staff of Wesley Hall Junior School for an emergency meeting. The Barbados Union of Teachers was not invited,” Pierre said. “Up to this point, there was no communication officially to the Barbados Union of Teachers about the planned move.”
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the ministry maintained that it had worked closely with the union in the weeks leading up to the term’s start, and that BUT representatives participated in school tours, expressing no dissatisfaction.
Pierre rejected that account, saying the union flagged concerns both in meetings and through visits to over 30 school sites. He said the pace of repairs and the lack of time for proper cleaning and inspection were among the union’s key issues.
“Some [projects] started in the middle of August. Some started the last week of August,” he said. “Where is the opportunity for quality checking?”
Health and safety concerns also remain, Pierre added, including dust, inadequate sanitation, limited bathroom access and a questionable drinking water supply.
He cited Welch’s Primary, which was closed due to rodent sightings and is now under inspection by the Ministry of Health.
Pierre further claimed that teachers at several schools, including Frederick Smith, Princess Margaret, Sharon and Belmont Primary, were denied time to prepare classrooms, even as another union reportedly received accommodation after teachers at Princess Margaret fell ill.
“Teachers of several schools… asked for that time, and I’m sure the parents can confirm that they asked for that time because they were in meetings with the permanent secretary and the chief education officer this past weekend,” he said. “It was a no from the Ministry of Educational Transformation.
“I’m stating the facts as they are as far as BUT is concerned.”
The union is now formally calling for a public forum to bring all stakeholders to the table.
“Let’s have a town hall meeting with the schools in question that they mentioned. Let’s have a town hall meeting with the contractors who worked on the schools. Let’s have a town hall meeting with the parents, the principals, the Ministry of Education; everyone,” Pierre said.
“Let’s have transparency and let us discuss the summer maintenance programme and what happened as a result of the end of the summer maintenance programme and the rush to get schools ready for September 1, which did not happen, and then it changed to September 8.”
Schools flagged by BUT as not being ready
The Barbados Union of Teachers listed more than 20 schools it considered unprepared as of September 1, citing ongoing construction, incomplete cleaning and unresolved safety concerns.
Primary schools
• St Luke’s Brighton
• Belmont
• St Giles
• Sharon
• St George
• Arthur Smith
• Selah
• St Bernard’s
• Wesley Hall Juniors
• St Matthew’s
• Gordon Greenidge
• St James
• Eden Lodge
Secondary schools
• Frederick Smith
• Princess Margaret
Nursery schools
• St Boniface
• Maria Holder – Gall Hill
• Maria Holder – Sharon
• Maria Holder – Oldbury
Note: Welch’s Primary was closed due to rodent sightings and is under inspection by the Ministry of Health.
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