AC units are expected to be installed in schools that lack them across Region Six, as the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) moves to address intense heat affecting students and teachers during the El Nino period.
Regional Chairman Junior Basant, addressing the council’s monthly statutory meeting on Thursday, said several schools in the region lack air-conditioning units, prompting the Regional Administration to install additional fans as an interim measure while longer-term solutions are pursued.
“Schools that do not have AC units, through the Department of Education and the REDO, we put additional fans in these schools to assist with the situation. Now we understand it’s a very hot season right now, on an average, it’s about 39 degrees, very unmanageable,” Basant said.
He said a recommendation has been included in the new budget for additional funding to install ceiling-mounted AC units and improve ventilation across schools in the region.
APNU Councillor Mehalai McAlmont sought an update on a previous commitment to install air-conditioning units at Tutorial Academy Secondary School.
“I was told that you promised that we are going to be having two AC units in our main building to facilitate the heat, and that will be done on or before the reopening of school,” McAlmont said.
Basant responded that installing two air-conditioning units alone would not adequately resolve the school’s heat problem. He said a visit to the school found that the upper flat of the building had ventilation issues that needed to be addressed first.
“It’s more than just simply going and installing two AC, and you would agree with me. That would not be ideal, it would not be functional and have the effect that we want it to be,” Basant said, noting the building was not properly sealed and had openings through which cool air could escape.
He said the school’s initial proposal to reinstate extractor fans was found to be inadequate, prompting a shift toward installing AC units. He added that he would ask the regional engineer to follow up on the broader ventilation improvements needed for the units to be effective.
