The Tribune

By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Union of Teachers president Belinda Wilson has told teachers at Gambier Primary School to leave their classrooms and sign out over new suspected cases of impetigo at the school, which the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology had cleared to reopen on Monday.

Ms Wilson said district superintendents and a nurse from a nearby clinic were assessing the situation and that the union would continue to monitor it closely.

She urged the ministry not to reopen the school prematurely, saying doctors had advised that those affected should remain in isolation for several days.

Her statement did not say how many people were affected or whether any cases had been confirmed.

In a statement dated October 4, the ministry said Gambier Primary School in New Providence and Samuel Guy Pinder Comprehensive School in Spanish Wells would resume normal operations after consultation with health officials and the implementation of recommended health and safety protocols. It said the necessary cleaning and sanitation at both schools had been completed.

The ministry urged parents and guardians to keep unwell children at home and to seek medical attention where necessary before allowing them to return, saying the precaution would help protect students and the wider school communities.

The closures are the latest in a series of disruptions that have forced schools to temporarily stop operating since the school year began.

Public schools nationwide were dismissed at noon on September 1 after industrial action by the Bahamas Educators Managerial Union, before the Supreme Court ordered the union to return to work.

Also in September, CR Walker Senior High School closed because of plumbing problems. In Eleuthera, Emma Cooper Primary School and Preston Albury High School repeatedly sent students home early because of unstable electricity, with parents reporting several days of early dismissals. Ms Wilson said classrooms on the island were hot and dark during that period.

Later that month, teachers at CC Sweeting High School protested over electrical safety and power failures. The ministry said an overloaded transformer serving the northern side of the school grounds had developed problems and shut down, disrupting electricity at the school.

Minister of Education, Science and Technology Chester Cooper has previously been reported as saying, in response to concerns about disruptions, that his ministry encourages resilience but that health and safety are its priority.

• Impetigo is a very contagious, superficial bacterial skin infection that mostly affects young children and causes red sores or blisters.