Education Minister Jeffrey Lloyd  says  that some teachers at CW Sawyer  Primary School called in sick yesterday  because of cleaning products used to rid the Yellow  Elder  Gardens campus of mould.

This comes following efforts by the Ministry of Education through the Ministry of Works to address mould concerns at the campus.

He said, “I’m not sure of  the number. I am advised that  about 11 of them  called in sick as a result of the cleaning agents that were used by the vendor we utilized yesterday,  which apparently that caused some of them to feel nauseous.

“We have dispatched the District Superintendent to work in consultation with the Principal to determine precisely what the circumstances are and see if any remedy is required and those remedies are to be immediately applied, but I am advised that everything is fine on the campuses this morning,” said the Minister.

On Monday when  reporters  visited the CW  Sawyer campus,  there were  many students sitting in chairs in the middle of the campus with their books,  as parents one by one came and collected their children from the campus.

One concerned parent after collecting a  child said that while on the campus,  they could smell the strong scent of cleaning chemicals. 

Last week the campus was closed for two days because of  the mould concerns at the campus.  

Bahamas Union of Teachers President Belinda Wilson on Monday expressed concern about the school’s structural issues. The Minister gave the assurance that the matter is being addressed.

“We are looking at the structural circumstance of the entire school system including CW Sawyer. 

“Our teams along with the Ministry of Work’s team have been working to access exactly what the state of the physical structure is as an update to the assessment that was done last year and during the summer time. 

“So, there is a constant revision of that update,  but we have just done so in the last week and a half and the idea is to see where there might be issues that will arise from a critical stand point that need to be immediately addressed.

“We have been mandated by the Ministry of Finance to provide a report on the costing of what may be required between now and the end of the fiscal year and that is in process at this time,” he said.

The Education Minister anticipated that he would have a response on that report by the end of yesterday.