Faipule hear that many public schools will not be ready to open next month
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The condition of bathrooms and cafeterias are just two of the many reasons why a number of public schools on Tutuila and in Manu’a will not be opening when the new school year starts next month.
This was the statement provided by a Health Inspector during a House Health committee hearing last week. The health inspector, along with the director of the Department of Health (DOH) Motusa Tuileana Nua other health officials appeared before the House Health committee last week to brief representatives on school preparations before the new school year begins.
When given the floor, a health inspector said some public school facilities are in very bad shape due to years of neglect and it’s unsafe for students to access those particular school facilities.
According to the health inspector, their preliminary inspection for all public schools in Tutuila was conducted in May while inspection for all schools in Aunu’u was done in June. Manu’a school inspections were conducted last month and based on the health inspectors assessment, there are many issues regarding the unsafe conditions of some of the school buildings, especially cafeterias and also bathrooms.
Some public schools have just completed renovations, while others are still under going repairs.
Some of the old problems that are still being found in some of the schools were decayed food on the floor, poor water supply and improper ventilation.
Health inspectors will revisit all public schools this month to ensure school cafeteria, bathrooms and campuses are ready for the children.
The health inspector made it clear to the House health committee that after their preliminary assessment, there are public schools that are not ready to open next month.
Photos of things that need to be fixed in public school cafeterias, bathrooms and school buildings — shocked faipule.
Faipule Vailoata E. Amituana’i said that he was saddened to see how bad some schools conditions were and he questioned the funding DOE is spending on maintenance of schools.
Vailoata said this is one of the many reasons why children get sick because they’re inside these unsafe school buildings and it’s unsafe for their health.
Faipule Avagafono Tuavao Vaimaga Maiava said one of the main problems is the lack of maintenance by the local Department of Education (AS-DOE).
He supported the health inspector’s report by the saying that he himself also visited the only school in his district and he saw that the school is far from ready to open.
House Vice Speaker Fetu Fetui Jr said he blames AS- DOE for not doing their job and this is an ongoing problem every new school year. Fetu said there’s enough funding but the problem is, maintenance is not given priority by AS-DOE.
Fetu said this is the way it has been for a long time, except that this time health inspectors have decided that this is not acceptable, and something should be done to improve the school buildings because otherwise the health of the students will be compromised. For example, in some the bathrooms, running water was not functioning.
Several parents who spoke to Samoa News stated that they were surprised to see that school repairs were still going on last week