JTA boss, others welcome proposal for AC units in classrooms, but,,,

President of the Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA), Dr Mark Smith, is among several Jamaicans who have welcomed a recommendation for air conditioning units to be installed in classrooms at public schools, given the increasingly warmer temperatures nationally.

The recommendation was made by Director for the Institute for Sustainable Development at the Mona Campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI), Dr David Smith, at a meeting of Parliament's Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC) on Wednesday.

Smith said studies have revealed that hot conditions make it more difficult for children to learn.

"Research shows very clearly that children learn less the warmer it is. It's not just that they're uncomfortable and irritable; they don't learn," he told the PAAC meeting.

"So what we are looking at is a situation where as our school rooms become warmer and warmer, and our ability as a country to develop the human capital we need to run our economy, gets worse and worse and worse.

"So, putting air conditioners in school classrooms is not a matter of comfort and luxury; it is what we absolutely need to build the human capital we need to get to where we would like to go," the UWI-based director asserted.

Notably, some classrooms have fans to assist with cooling, but teachers and students often complain that these are not enough.

During a tour of several schools for the start of the new academic year in September of last year, Education and Youth Minister, Fayval Williams, said the ministry was considering the idea of upgrading various institutions by installing air conditioning units in classrooms.

She acknowledged then that countries worldwide were experiencing warmer temperatures, including Jamaica.

Williams pointed out that school infrastructure needs improvement, as the buildings were not designed to facilitate adequate ventilation.

"We haven't gotten used to air conditioned classrooms yet, but we've reached a point where not only fans, but also air conditioning units should be present," she told Loop News at the time.

It is not clear if the ministry has since embarked on that plan.

Fayval Williams

In media interviews this week, the JTA president said teachers and students have been struggling with rising temperatures in classrooms locally.

In pointing to Pakistan, for example, where the heat situation forced the closure of schools at one point, Smith said stakeholders should not wait until that situation happens in Jamaica before the problem is addressed.

"So, we have to really look at the proposal that was made by Dr Smith to see how best we can get ahead of the problem," the JTA president said, adding that the recommendation would be a "big, bold and audacious" project if the Government embarks on it.

Smith recommended that if the installation of AC units in classrooms is accepted, then a phased approach to its implementation could be carried out, with priority being given to schools worse affected by the heat. He said international partners could assist the Government with that initiative.

On social media, many persons have welcomed the overall recommendations being made by both the Dr Smith and the JTA president.

However, some persons had concerns about the safety and security of such AC units, especially in light of some schools being plagued by theft and vandalism.

"This (AC units in classrooms) should have been the norm years ago; the ministry wants change in the education system but don’t want to put in the relevant infrastructure," said a man on Facebook.

"Yes, as a classroom teacher at a primary school here in Clarendon, I can tell you the heat is unbearable, because many days I have to teach outside, and sometimes even then it's still overbearing," the woman wrote.

Another woman said: "This is a good idea, but until we start to maintain systems that we implement and fix what is broken, I foresee problems.

"Yes, put in the AC units, great! When the AC stops working, or the vents want to clean, how will that part go? Will the children have to suffer the consequences of what the talkers and planners did not put into the equation, or refuse to accept as their responsibility? These are serious questions that need to be answered in this proposal," she reasoned.

On the point of heat affecting the performances of students at schools, as raised by Dr Smith, a woman appeared to have difficulties with that argument.

"Strange, I am wondering (if) students who had passed six and 15 subjects in many schools in Jamaica in one sitting weren't (in) the environment?

"Worse (some of them had) no light, internet, phone and many more luxury, yet they showed more interest in learning, and how to manage study time and leisure time," she wrote.

In response, a man who identified himself as an educator, disagreed with her line of reasoning.

"(Name of Facebook user) I am an industrial arts teacher. Our roof is about 15 feet high covered with zinc and no ceiling," the male educator explained.

Continuing, he said: "The perimeter wall is around 10 feet from the door, resulting in no ventilation. On a typical day the temperature is around 30°C and some days higher.

"Imagine having a class of 15 students (from) 12:30-2:30 (pm) with that heat being conducted through the roof on them with no way to cool down," the teacher said.

He noted that it was the same general experience in many classrooms.

"It's not a lack of motivation, because most of our children are well motivated, but why allow them and the teachers to suffer because it was hard on the previous generation? If the Government can find a way to cool the classrooms, well, let them do it," the educator indicated.

But a man said the "professionals and administrators in education" need to understand that while they consider the required improvements in education, "such improvements have to be calculated against the overall economy".

He added that, "Cooling of the work space is most desirable, but any such improvements would have to be programmed over many years."

Asked another man: "A lot of schools are already struggling to pay their utility bills. How do we address that aspect of schools now being faced with increased light and power bills?"

Meanwhile, a woman who purported to be an educator, said she was appalled by some of the persons disagreeing with the proposal by the UWI director and scientist.

"Colonialism really did a number on us, because a recommendation is given, and the first thing some of us do is to tear it down because we think that the heat in the classrooms is nothing but a joke and we can deal with it.

"A wake-up call: It nuh easy fi inna one classroom from 8:30 (am) to 3(pm) daily in heat, especially if a zinc top! Who feels it knows it! I am that teacher!" the woman declared.