Fleas force closure of Secondary Schools at Arnos Vale

Students of the Thomas Saunders Secondary and the St Vincent Girls’ High School were expected to return to their classrooms today, Friday April 26, 2024, after their face to face education was disrupted on Tuesday April 23, because of fleas.

These schools are temporarily located on the tarmac of the decommissioned ET Joshua Airport at Arnos Vale, while repairs are being done to their original buildings in Kingstown.

Students at these two institutions were sent home early on Tuesday due to a flea infestation at the Thomas Saunders Secondary School.

The nearby GHS was closed as a precautionary measure, as fleas are known to multiply and spread quickly.

During the closure period, teams from the Public Health department were busy fumigating the buildings to get rid of the pests. On Wednesday, April 24, 2024, Minister of Education, Curtis King gave the assurance that face to face classes would resume today unless they are otherwise advised by officials from the Ministry of Health.

The minister explained that from time to time, there are “lots of stray dogs” on the tarmac which are infested with fleas.

This is not the first time that these schools have had to be closed as a result of fleas; a similar situation arose in 2022.

Minister King said since then, the government has made several appeals to dog owners in the area to keep their dogs at home.

Now that the problem has arisen again, minister King has pointed to a combined effort to combat the situation.

“We have to work together; the Ministry of Education has to work with the Ministry of Health to deal with these issues,” he said on radio.

King added that on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, the Ministry of Education responded immediately when the problem was reported to them.

He said two years ago, when the problem was at the GHS buildings, public health officials sprayed the area and used mesh wire to, hopefully, keep the dogs out.

This time around the GHS did not report a problem, but precautionary measures were taken to ensure the safety of the school’s population.

The minister explained that due to the chemicals used for the fumigation of the area both schools had to be closed.

During the time that students were out of the physical classroom, they were expected to continue learning online.

The minister said that the government has invested “in the necessary infrastructure to allow for the continuity of education when we face challenges that force us to move from face to face instructions”.