After more than a week of disruptions at Stephen Dillet and Uriah McPhee primary schools, Minister of Education, Science and Technology Jerome Fitzgerald assured parents and teachers of both schools that there is no "threat to their health and safety".
Officials from the Ministry of Education, the Department of Environmental Health Services (DEHS) and the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) toured both schools yesterday.
Fitzgerald said with the exception of cleaning the vents, which is ongoing, work at both schools has been completed.
"We expect by the end of this week or next week Monday to inspect the duct work, and to make sure that the air conditioning system is working as it is now," Fitzgerald told administrators and PTA officials at Stephen Dillet Primary School.
"This school has been functioning from last Wednesday... The same thing applies for Uriah McPhee.
"That is up and ready. The contractor completed the repairs on the air conditioning units at that school yesterday (Saturday)."
Fitzgerald said on Friday the air conditioning unit at Uriah McPhee Primary School was "sabotaged" multiple times, forcing education officials to close the school for another day.
He said yesterday that those repairs have been made and there should be no problems moving forward with the security personnel in place.
The Ministry of Education closed the primary schools last Friday because of several health issues and malfunctioning air conditioning units.
Bahamas Union of Teachers (BUT) President Belinda Wilson claimed the schools also have mold, as well as rodent and termite infestation.
The schools opened earlier this week after Fitzgerald said the Ministry of Environment gave the all-clear.
However, the union continued to express concerns about conditions at both schools. Union representatives were not present yesterday.
BUT President Belinda Wilson could not be reached for comment.
The union had its own assessment conducted by Enviro-Clean Company on September 14. Fitzgerald has dismissed that report.
In its report, the company said the air conditioning units and vents on each floor of Stephen Dillet are "extremely dirty, pushing out dust and contaminants".
The company noted that in an opening connecting the second and third floors, exposed fiberglass was used to fix the ceiling and overall Stephen Dillet "is not fit or worthy to open for public use".
During yesterday's tour of Stephen Dillet, Fitzgerald told PTA President Mandel Miller he did not want any misconceptions about the Department of Environmental Health Services' (DEHS) assessment of both schools.
That report was conducted last week Tuesday.
In its report, the DEHS said it is "satisfied notwithstanding the balance of works to be carried out that [Uriah McPhee and Stephen Dillet primary schools] do not pose an imminent danger to teachers and students.
Following the tour, Miller said in a separate interview that the PTA was satisfied the majority of health concerns it had raised have been resolved.
"I believe that the environment can now be conducive for effective learning and as a work area for our teachers," said.
"I would like to encourage all of the stakeholders of Stephen Dillet to now let's get back to the business of educating and developing the young children here."
Stephen Dillet's principal, Sheila Scavella, told The Nassau Guardian the sit-in and closures over the last two weeks have not had a major impact on the school and its students.
"During the industrial action, school kept right on as normal," she said. "We had administrators and other teachers who were making sure that our students had instructions throughout the day.

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