STUDENTS of the St Elizabeth Primary School, St Joseph are currently on the grounds of the nearby St Elizabeth Resource Centre after complaints of rat infestation at the school and skin conditions among the student body.
No classes are being held. Instead, a meeting is underway between the principal of the school and representatives of the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT).
BUT president Pedro Shepherd said there were complaints of rat, mice and cockroach droppings in the school and skin conditions including ringworm in one or two of the children.
He said the media would be fully apprised of the situation following the meeting.
Parents who gathered on the outskirts of the school said their children returned to school from the Christmas vacation to find their books rat-bitten, with most destroyed.
They called for the school to be closed for a day or two to accommodate a thorough cleaning, citing that little children pay very little attention to hygiene and were at risk. (LK)
