Parents were called to collect their children from Hilda Skeene Primary in St Philip on Tuesday after the school was closed early due to environmental issues — including reports of a rat infestation that caught staff and parents off guard.
When Barbados TODAY visited the school, parents and guardians were seen entering the compound and leaving with their children. The street close to the school was lined with vehicles, which one nearby business owner described as unusual for that time of day.
Several parents said there was confusion over why they needed to collect their children, as no official message had been sent out by the school or the Ministry of Education.
One parent who runs a nearby business said she was not informed directly by the school but learned about the situation through posts on social media.
“I now hear so, but I ain’t know yet cause the teacher aint put nothing in the chat, so I ain’t really sure… I hear the school shutting but they aint tell we why, but I hear the same thing, rat infestation.”
Another parent, who was picking up on behalf of someone else, said the parent she was assisting received a phone call: “They said they have some infestation going on so they have a choice, they have an option to go or not.”
Some parents said they learned of the early dismissal through friends or family members who had siblings at the school.
“The teacher had messaged her, so she messaged me,” said one parent. She added that although she already knew the reason for the early closure, no official explanation had been provided.
Parent Charles Domingo, expressed frustration over the lack of proper procedures in place for child collection during unexpected situations.
“I got a call from his teacher, she said they have an environment problem and to come for the child,” the father said.
“I came to find the gate locked, I had to go and look for him when I went to go collect him. The classroom was closed, but she was in there; his teacher was in there.”
Domingo voiced concern about the supervision of the children during the early dismissal. “Cause they have a meeting, all the kids are in the pasture, so when the parents come for the children, where they gon do, cause they have a meeting and the teachers are in class in the meeting, so the parents can’t get their children.”
He explained that the standard procedure for collection is that a parent or approved guardian must pick up the child, but the school guard had not been given any specific directive in this situation.
First Vice-President and chairman of the occupational safety and health committee of the Barbados Union of Teachers, Julian Pierre, highlighted the importance of proper garbage disposal and the provision of covered bins at schools.
Following visits by health and education officials, the union also visited the school, according to Pierre. Recommendations were made for industrial cleaning of the premises.
“It is twofold because the sighting of the rodents is not only linked to what happens on the school compound. There’s an adjacent pavilion which belongs to the school, which is used by the public, there’s lots of garbage there,” Pierre said.
“So it’s always an appeal from us when it comes to situations like this where you have rodents on the environs of the school, on the school compound, as well as around in the neighbouring areas, for persons — everybody has to do their part.”
The union has also called on the Ministry of Education to provide covered garbage bins at schools.
“Like what the general public has, the black bins with the green covers. If we can get bins like these on school compounds, I think that would also reduce the likelihood of rodent presence,” Pierre added.
He also revealed that some maintenance issues had already been identified by the Ministry of Education and are being addressed.
“There are some maintenance issues that are already on the radar of the [ministry’s maintenance unit], and those things will already be in process to be fixed. However, I suspect that the school Hilda Skeene itself may be one of the schools scheduled for the summer maintenance programme for more major work to be done,” he said.
No official statement was immediately available from the Ministry of Education.
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