Chief Education Officer (CEO) Saddam Hussain has issued a 12-point memorandum to deal with the heat in classrooms that teachers have been complaining about.
Dated October 12th, the memorandum was posted yesterday on the Facebook page of the Ministry of Education.
Addressed to head teachers and regional education officers, the memo said that schools and classrooms must be managed with sufficient flexibility to enable comfortable and safe learning.
“This means that long established rules, customs, traditions, habits and practices need to be reviewed and adjusted”, he said.
Entitled `Hot Climatic Conditions’, Hussain said that teachers should avoid relying on only a fan when the indoor temperature is “extremely high”. He added that if they so choose, teachers should be allowed to conduct classes outside of the building and/or outside of the classroom if such space is cooler than inside.
Rules on uniforms can be relaxed at the discretion of the school to ensure learners are more comfortable. Teachers are also encouraged to dress in attire that will help them to cope with the high temperatures.
Hussain said that schools can also give learners additional short breaks during instructional periods and learners should be encouraged to consume plenty of fluids even if not thirsty. Parents must also ensure that learners take one or more bottles of water/fluid to school.
Leaners, the CEO, said should also be advised to stay out of the sun and given increased access to the coolest areas of the school buildings and grounds. They should also be encouraged to wear a cap or hat while outside.
Teachers were also advised to familiarize themselves with signs of heat illnesses which include headache, dizziness and confusion, excessive sweating and cramps.
Collective actions were also advised to be taken by schools to ensure that outdoor activities are modified to increase rest periods or postponed during extreme heat.
In a meeting on October 2nd at State House with President Irfaan Ali, several teachers had raised the issue of unbearable heat in the classrooms and called for solutions.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, the Ministry of Education updated the list of items that may be purchased with the schools cash grant to include fans.
Stabroek News spoke with teachers at four schools across Georgetown on Wednesday and Thurs-day, and they all underscored the need for better ventilation, and maybe even air-conditioning units placed in the classrooms.
Bouncing
A teacher from the recently completed St Rose’s High School, stated that they had to pool resources from their own pockets, along with assistance from parents, to purchase fans for their classrooms to mitigate the intense heat bouncing off the concrete walls at the school.
“The school has close to 500 children, when you are in the auditorium upstairs, it is extremely hot. We have a programme up there this afternoon and I don’t know how we’ll make out”, she said with a light-hearted chuckle.
She also noted that at the commissioning of the school in September, the Ministry had promised to collaborate with the board to have the issue resolved but nothing has been done to date.
Another teacher from Tutorial High School, and who is also an executive member of the Georgetown branch of the GTU, underscored the critical need for more ventilation in classrooms and does not see the purchasing of fans alleviating the issue.
“All schools are facing heat. I think it is due to the position of the schools and the lack of vents in most of these schools. The Ministry needs to work with the contactors to find a better plan to create more ventilation in schools”, the teacher said.
On Tuesday, when this newspaper visited East Ruimveldt Secondary it was denied admission into the compound, but however managed to speak with a teacher who is also a form master.
The teacher spoke of being faced with the extreme heat in her classroom. She is hoping that the Ministry will visit to assess the situations at these schools and make the necessary adjustments needed.
“Up to last week, I had to revive a child in my class and wet his face with water because he said – Miss I feeling dizzy like I want to faint, and to have these children spend six hours in this heat is heart-wrenching.”
This newspaper reached out to the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) yesterday and spoke with the Presi-dent, Mark Lyte, who noted that there have been complaints about the poor design and ventilation from a number of teachers. He further stated that this prompted the Ministry to enquire from teachers what additional resources were needed. This may have resulted in the addition of fans.
However, the union is calling for a more long-term approach to be taken when looking for solutions to combat the issues that both teachers and students are facing right now. He argued that isolated measures, such as the inclusion of fans in classrooms through the school cash grant, represents only a partial solution to a complex problem. “I don’t believe that fans will solve the issue, because as we know the place is not getting cooler, it’s getting warmer and if the place is hot the fan will circulate hot air.”
Lyte then suggested a more holistic review of the schools’ infrastructure to assess and address heating issues, such as inadequate ventilation and insulation. As such, the GTU emphasised the importance of creating a conducive learning environment through long-term structural changes.
While there is a call for having schools air conditioned, Lyte noted that some schools were not built to accommodate air-conditioning and since Guyana is prone to blackouts, having classrooms built to only accommodate air-conditioning will eventually pose a problem. (Deneita Fredericks)
