By Gemma Handy
With stifling temperatures, high humidity and little wind in recent weeks, many local residents have been feeling the heat.
Anyone struggling to work efficiently amid the stuffy conditions – which last week sparked an excessive heat warning – will be able to testify to just how hard it can be to concentrate.
Children who returned to school on September 5 have also been grappling with sweltering classrooms. And in most of them, things to mitigate that – such as air conditioning and pedestal fans – are sparse.
Teachers’ efforts to help have inspired a nationwide campaign for the public to donate fans to help both children and staff keep their cool during lessons.
Tanya Stevens, a grade six science teacher at Pigotts Primary, said she had been finding it “very difficult” to operate since returning to school after the summer break to discover most of the institution’s standalone fans were no longer working.
“I decided to reach out to the public to see if I could get some assistance for my class,” Stevens told Observer. “So far I have got a few and have even been able to give to a few other classes too.”
Stevens’ initiative was picked up by Facebook group ‘Pineapple Express 268’ which launched the campaign #schoolsfandrive to encourage kind-hearted members of the public to lend a hand.
Schools across Antigua have posted a tally of the number of fans they need. One of the largest – Ottos Comprehensive – is said to be in need of almost 100. All Saints Secondary hopes to receive 60 fans, while Antigua Grammar School wants 48.
Collectively, the wish-list collated tops 800.
Antigua Grammar School Principal Sam Roberts told Observer his school currently has no working pedestal fans at all.
“It’s been extremely uncomfortable,” he said. “We have had to resort to going outside under the trees and even that doesn’t help.
“It’s very, very hot – especially in the classrooms. It affects the teachers as well as the students as we also have to work in the environment.
“We’ve been trying to push through but getting fans might help. Doing something is better than doing nothing,” he added.
Mariella Miller, Deputy Principal of Jennings Primary, told Observer the conditions had been “almost unbearable”.
“When we came back last Monday the majority of fans weren’t working. We have 14 classrooms and six working fans.
“We have had several children who have been affected by the heat – sweating profusely, not feeling well, being lightheaded, and having to sit and recuperate,” she explained.
“We have to try to make one fan oscillate but the size of the classroom doesn’t allow everyone to get breeze.”
A number of people have already stepped forward with pledges to help.
Among those donating is Observer’s managing director – and the UPP’s candidate for St George – Algernon Watts, who has previously gifted fans to local schools.
“If these kids aren’t comfortable, they won’t learn. If the teachers aren’t comfortable, they won’t teach to their best, they won’t be at optimum performance,” he said.
“If we say the children are our future, we have to give them a future. These days are extremely hot; I don’t want to imagine what they’re going through in their classrooms,” Watts added.
Director of Education Clare Browne acknowledged that classrooms were overly warm and said he embraced any community initiative to help the nation’s schools.
“Governments with finite resources, particularly in small island developing states, cannot do everything,” he said.
But he added a word of warning.
“This fan project is not as easy as it appears. It is all well and good to get the public to donate plenty fans for the classrooms of the various schools, but it is much more than that.
“Schools will have to be properly checked to ensure they can carry the extra load that plenty fans will bring. I am not an electrician, but I know that circuits may become overwhelmed with additional load depending on how schools are wired. This can make bad matters worse.
“It might require rewiring of schools which is a major undertaking. Timers will also have to be placed on these fans. A fan left on overnight, through human error, can cause a fire that could potentially level a school,” he explained.
Browne said he did not wish to be “negative”, adding, “But we have to be sensible and temper immediate expectations. Again, I am not insensitive to the need for students, teachers, principals and all who operate in schools to function in conducive environments.”
