The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

TEACHERS at CC Sweeting Senior High say Monday's explosion, which left three students with burns, was the fourth fire-related incident at the school since classes resumed over the summer. They say it came after repeated warnings that the campus's power problems were becoming dangerous.

The school remains closed. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Science and Technology Chester Cooper said yesterday it will not reopen until all parties have completed their inspections and the Ministry of Works has signed off on the campus.

Mr Cooper said an issue with Bahamas Power and Light's wires resulted in the students' injuries. He said the matter involves Bahamas Grid Company, BPL, private contractors and the Ministry of Works, and that officials were assessing whether the necessary corrective work had been completed. Officials hoped the school could reopen today, he said, but an official announcement will be made once the work is done.

Teachers questioned why the school's electrical infrastructure was not upgraded before 28 air-conditioning units were installed over the summer. They said officials had been warned that the campus could not safely handle the extra load.

One teacher said the school had had insufficient power since 2023, but until this school year the problem had mostly meant outages. Since classes resumed, teachers say, it has escalated to exploding transformers, fires, sparks and damaged electrical fixtures.

The teacher said staff were assured the problems would be addressed after the first incidents, but another transformer blew before any visible work was done. Engineers who later visited the campus said the required electrical upgrade would take six to eight weeks, according to the teacher.

"The Ministry of Education, in my opinion, is dragging its feet regarding this situation at C.C," said the teacher, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorised to speak to the media. She said classes had been disrupted every week in September, and that the problem went beyond the air-conditioning units and the campus remained unsafe.

The three students were hurt when an electrical fault caused an explosion near a classroom shortly after 11am on Monday. The school's nurse assessed them and their injuries were not considered severe. The incident forced the early closure of the school and the neighbouring Centre for the Deaf.

A second teacher was nearby when it happened. The teacher said sparks were flying in different directions, so they could not move towards the students.

"The campus feels unsafe, and everyone is constantly on edge because it feels as though an electrical explosion could happen at any moment," the teacher said.

The teacher said power would go out in the middle of lessons and stay off for hours, leaving classrooms hot and students unable to concentrate. Some students fear an electrical failure could start a fire. The teacher said the school should stay closed long enough for officials to carry out a full assessment and complete repairs.

"While we understand the importance of instructional time," the teacher said, "missed schoolwork can be made up. A life, however, cannot be replaced. The safety of our students and staff must come first."

A third teacher said the campus has not completed a full week of classes without an interruption since the school year began. The power usually goes out before 10am and stays off for hours, the teacher said, and the problem became more noticeable after the air-conditioning units were installed.

"Before the ACs were put in, the power was fine," the teacher said.

The third teacher said Monday's injuries were particularly hard to accept after so many warnings.

"I'm frustrated and sad that it took three students being injured before the officials actually took the power challenges seriously," the teacher said, adding: "I'm sorry it was students, but we all know it could have been anyone on that campus."

Bahamas Educators Managerial Union president Stephen McPhee said electrical problems at CC Sweeting are not new, based on his experience as both a teacher and a student there. He said the situation had grown more serious as the school added air-conditioning units, new technology and other systems that increased the load on its electrical infrastructure.

The problem appears to involve both the school's distribution system and the amount of electricity supplied to it, Mr McPhee said, which would require an upgrade. He said the union understood an upgrade was already in the works, and that teachers were calling for it to be expedited. The union has also previously raised concerns that overhead electrical wires at schools put students, teachers and the public at risk, he said.