Is it me, or does it seem that every year Ministry of Education schools are in desperate need of repair to their infrastructure. Is the infrastructure and repair that faulty, or is it that students are just that destructive?

I was watching ZNS news a few nights ago, where Min. of Works Bradley Roberts was berating students who destroy the MOE schools that the government has to then scramble to repair in time for the new school year. He then made the comparison to the private schools and said that the infrastructure at these school are better maintained by their students.

If students at the MOE schools are being this destructive, swift action should be taken to make parents cover the cost of the repair, or better yet, make the students help in the repair process.

Is it me, or does it seem that every year Ministry of Education schools are in desperate need of repair to their infrastructure. Is the infrastructure and repair that faulty, or is it that students are just that destructive?
I was watching ZNS news a few nights ago, where Min. of Works Bradley Roberts was berating students who destroy the MOE schools that the government has to then scramble to repair in time for the new school year. He then made the comparison to the private schools and said that the infrastructure at these school are better maintained by their students.
If students at the MOE schools are being this destructive, swift action should be taken to make parents cover the cost of the repair, or better yet, make the students help in the repair process.

What a load of cow dung. So Bradley would have us believe that boys and girls who attend government schools are a different breed of Bahamian youth than those who attend private school?

Government just doesnt do as good a job with infrastructural maintenance as does the private sector in general..plain and simple. Not to mention how shoddy workmanship gone to bed with some of these contractors who win or are given government contracts.

Is it me, or does it seem that every year Ministry of Education schools are in desperate need of repair to their infrastructure. Is the infrastructure and repair that faulty, or is it that students are just that destructive?
I was watching ZNS news a few nights ago, where Min. of Works Bradley Roberts was berating students who destroy the MOE schools that the government has to then scramble to repair in time for the new school year. He then made the comparison to the private schools and said that the infrastructure at these school are better maintained by their students.
If students at the MOE schools are being this destructive, swift action should be taken to make parents cover the cost of the repair, or better yet, make the students help in the repair process.


You know I watched ZNS myself that night and I was taken back by that comment. I felt he was trying to say that public school students were more uncivil animal-like tearing down the schools...it didn't sit well with me.

I'm not no contractor but it has to be the way they repair the school if every year they keep repairing it...what types of repairs we talking about because with the video footage they were showing cement blocks going up and plumbing pipes. I doubt those kids break down concrete walls :dunce:

but the thing is he outright blames the kids...neglect the fact that the govt workers or sub-contractors had the whole summer to get on point...i cant go on my job blaming somebody else for what I didnt do when it is my problem...my duty! and mY responsibilty! the is the minister (both he and sear and their PS's and the school custodians and the person who is in charge of maintenance from both ministries) should knowthat the buck stops with him...stop complaining take responsibility and get it done! you had two months! my god!

I attended both a private and a Government high school and can tell you all that what he is saying is true. It does not necessarily have to do with the students and their level of civility it has to do with their sense of respect for their school and its facilities.

Private school students generally have parents that struggle and work hard to pay their school fees, Government school students do not have this "burden". Also private school teachers do not have the same level of frustration as Government school teachers and do not feel that they are fighting a losing battle, so they get more involved.

If a teacher calls the mother of little Johnny at RM Bailey she may or may not show up, if she shows up she may or may not have the time or interest to care. If that same mother was paying over $1,000.00 per term for little Johnny's education and he does foolishness that causes her to have to come off her job to hear about his vandalism he gettin' his lil hip tan. Some parents with children in Government schools would do the same, but many would not. If they do not discipline their child and he repeatedly gets in trouble they still have to educate him, if he is at QC, St. Annes, St. Andrews or any other school he gets tossed after a few transgressions. So it isn't about the child that enters school A. being better than the child entering school B. It is about child at school A. having more required of him than the child at shool B.

Government just doesnt do as good a job with infrastructural maintenance as does the private sector in general..plain and simple. Not to mention how shoddy workmanship gone to bed with some of these contractors who win or are given government contracts.


But every year, every year! That is a bit suspect to me. It is more likely a combination of poor repairs and kids who lack any respect for their instution of learning.

but the thing is he outright blames the kids...neglect the fact that the govt workers or sub-contractors had the whole summer to get on point...i cant go on my job blaming somebody else for what I didnt do when it is my problem...he is the minister the buck stops with him...stop complaining and get it done! you had two months!



You are missing the point. Why does the government have to extensively repair these schools every summer in the first place? The fact that they get it done on time or not is irrelevant in this case, since when they do, months later it seems the same repairs and more have to be done. And that is my gripe, why?

Its a collective effort to keep MOE schools in tip top infrastructural shape. Yes that means that the government contracts the necessary repairs, but kids at the same time should maintain the work that has been done, by not destroying it.

I can understand the fustration that the Minister has, because I think it is ridiculous to have to be making the same repairs over and over again, barring the destruction of natural disasters like hurricanes.

You know I watched ZNS myself that night and I was taken back by that comment. I felt he was trying to say that public school students were more uncivil animal-like tearing down the schools...it didn't sit well with me.
I'm not no contractor but it has to be the way they repair the school if every year they keep repairing it...what types of repairs we talking about because with the video footage they were showing cement blocks going up and plumbing pipes. I doubt those kids break down concrete walls :dunce:


Trsut me, they can and they have. I attended a government highschool, and as soon as the schools back wall is repaired, a few months later some persons have broken it down to make an alternate path to the main road. Now these can be kids in the school, or persons that live in the surrounding communities.

You are missing the point. Why does the government have to extensively repair these schools every summer in the first place? The fact that they get it done on time or not is irrelevant in this case, since when they do, months later it seems the same repairs and more have to be done. And that is my gripe, why?
Its a collective effort to keep MOE schools in tip top infrastructural shape. Yes that means that the government contracts the necessary repairs, but kids at the same time should maintain the work that has been done, by not destroying it.
I can understand the fustration that the Minister has, because I think it is ridiculous to have to be making the same repairs over and over again, barring the destruction of natural disasters like hurricanes.

you have a point...but there are so many different ways of coming to the end result: the school een ready!

maybe it was shoddy construction in the first place...how much damage can a pencil mark or graffiti do? I think this is just a matter of neglect overtime...not neccessairly kids kicking and stomping down the sheetrock...but then again f it is, because I dont know...maybe their venting out their frustrations at school...are there school psycologist in every school?

But every year, every year! That is a bit suspect to me. It is more likely a combination of poor repairs and kids who lack any respect for their instution of learning.

I don't think that children can cause the level of vandalism or destruction that would require major construction repairs.

The thing is, its just their time(the schools). When you look at the schools that have now become trailer parks: AF. Adderley, SC. McPherson, Mable Walker, etc., these are all very OLD schools. Their plumbing, electrical, etc are still in galanized pipes from the 70's.

So eventhough it seems like every year, the MOE has to do repairs, I think it was necessary, in the case of AF. Adderley for sure( my old school), to demolish it and start over.

I don't think that children can cause the level of vandalism or destruction that would require major construction repairs.
The thing is, its just their time(the schools). When you look at the schools that have now become trailer parks: AF. Adderley, SC. McPherson, Mable Walker, etc., these are all very OLD schools. Their plumbing, electrical, etc are still in galanized pipes from the 70's.
So eventhough it seems like every year, the MOE has to do repairs, I think it was necessary, in the case of AF. Adderley for sure( my old school), to demolish it and start over.

truth be told this hould have been done 10 yearsa go!

I attended both a private and a Government high school and can tell you all that what he is saying is true. It does not necessarily have to do with the students and their level of civility it has to do with their sense of respect for their school and its facilities. Private school students generally have parents that struggle and work hard to pay their school fees, Government school students do not have this "burden". Also private school teachers do not have the same level of frustration as Government school teachers and do not feel that they are fighting a losing battle, so they get more involved.
If a teacher calls the mother of little Johnny at RM Bailey she may or may not show up, if she shows up she may or may not have the time or interest to care. If that same mother was paying over $1,000.00 per term for little Johnny's education and he does foolishness that causes her to have to come off her job to hear about his vandalism he gettin' his lil hip tan. Some parents with children in Government schools would do the same, but many would not. If they do not discipline their child and he repeatedly gets in trouble they still have to educate him, if he is at QC, St. Annes, St. Andrews or any other school he gets tossed after a few transgressions. So it isn't about the child that enters school A. being better than the child entering school B. It is about child at school A. having more required of him than the child at shool B.


I totally disagree with you there. I went to public schools and I can tell you that the workmanship and lack of proper on time repairs is what is shoddy! The schools are old and not properly maintained. There should be a maintainance department in each school to deal with problems as they come up. By the time they get to repairs some of the problems are extensive.

Lets just say that a school is built to house some 500 students. We all know that there are about 500 students in first and second grade alone of most public schools. Now add another 700 students for the other grades in primary school. Thats 1200 students. Imagine now that there are only ten toilets for the whole school(which is the case in some places) Dont you think that a building that is built for 300 will run down quicker when there is 4 times that number using it? Just the toilets alone would need the seals and stuff checked and kept in order at least monthly.

In high school we had lockers for sucuring your stuff during PE. There were twenty-five lockers and four classes had PE together. You doing the math? To secure your stuff you had to share lockers, sometimes five girls were sharing one locker. How long will a locker built for one, last when for eight hours a day, it has to hold 5 times the amount it was built to hold?

Private schools have or can hire maintainance ppl as they need to. Public schools have to wait for Ministry of Works ppl. When I worked a summer at MOW I had to be there for seven, the boss got in for nine and I was home in bed by eleven. Nough said on that.

Mind you, I know that children can be destructive specially those who come from neglected backgrounds but the type of repairs and infantstructure they are talking about, no lone child, or even small group of children can be held accountable for. The graffiti, messy yards yes...the broken water pipes, rusty water or no water in some cases, broken ceiling fans, crumbling walls etc, no!

Remember the girl who was hit in the head with falling concrete at T.G Glover (the school that was condemed, closed and reopened)? I guess some heavy kid was upstairs jumping around that thats what caused the slab to fall....

Mind you, I know that children can be destructive specially those who come from neglected backgrounds but the type of repairs and infantstructure they are talking about, no lone child, or even small group of children can be held accountable for. The graffiti, messy yards yes...the broken water pipes, rusty water or no water in some cases, broken ceiling fans, crumbling walls etc, no!
Remember the girl who was hit in the head with falling concrete at T.G Glover (the school that was condemed, closed and reopened)? I guess some heavy kid was upstairs jumping around that thats what caused the slab to fall....

:tup:

What a load of cow dung. So Bradley would have us believe that boys and girls who attend government schools are a different breed of Bahamian youth than those who attend private school?
Government just doesnt do as good a job with infrastructural maintenance as does the private sector in general..plain and simple. Not to mention how shoddy workmanship gone to bed with some of these contractors who win or are given government contracts.


This een about no Bradley or Alfred, this about the ministry and the slow response time for Government contracts, along with crooked contractors.

The "Ministries" working along with the Ministry of Finance, just have to trust some people on this one, that when they pay up they will get the job done.
When the "other" contractors, begin to see that only a handful of contractors will get the job, because they will deliver at any cost, they will shape up and stop trying to short cut on cost.

So, three things...
1. The Ministries have to put a few line items on the fast track. In this case, every year school closes in the summer and every year it reopens in the fall. Have that money in hand the year before, to the contractor for the next year for work to start immediately after the school year.

2. The contractors have to do a fair share of honest work. Too often the reality can be that, the contractors are not paid on time, but they also have given at the majority of the time sub standard performance. We have to quit the running around, stick with a few big contractors who can get the job done, leave the small man alone for now "because he is the one who will try to short change the system". Until they "see" that een nuttin for dem, if they try to short cut the system.
So you ask, well the big companies will cost allot more. Yes in the onset, but the small companies "more often than not" will leave a job incomplete, and will do a half way job for various reasons.

3. My God, the small things we should allow those little snot nosed brats to do. Painting and small carpentry work can be contracted out to senior high kids, as a part of some work programme. My goodness, they have workshop class and the like, and they can't find one child to help keep the school in tact during the school year?
:dunce:


Kids will be destructive, but we still have to do what’s right ultimately!

addition to post #14

4. Buy proper building supplies. The ministries need to stop tiefing and purchasing the cheapest, substandard, slightly irregular supplies at an elevated cost so the 'upper crust' could get the kick back from the supplier.