RED HILLS, Clarendon — Administrators at Red Hills Primary and Infant School in rural Clarendon are hoping gas oil will help them rid the school of an infestation of termites that has plagued them for more than five years. The library has long been forced closed and the pests have now found their way into the ceiling of a classroom used by fifth and sixth graders. They are also inside the cupboards of other classrooms.

“The library has not been in use because of the issue. We have written to the [education] ministry and we are yet to receive a response. The ministry does a budget where they put critical schools on the list so I guess our school has not come up as yet,” school Principal Jacqueline Corriders told the Jamaica Observer.

The insects have already infested charts and other learning material in storage. There is also a nest in a tree in the schoolyard.

“We have tried to get rid of it by using gas oil and another chemical that was recommended. It was also in the staff room and the principal’s office and, after trying the mixture, we don’t see much of it anymore so we will try it on the grade six block,” Corriders explained.

However, according to pest control experts, any reprieve the gas oil — or any other type of fuel — is providing will be short lived as it is one of the do-it-yourself remedies that have shown to be ineffective over the long run. It merely treats the termites you can see, not the hundreds of thousands that are likely teeming inside furniture.

Termites are just one of the problems facing the school. One week before the new school year begins, administrators cannot ignore the fact that they simply do not have enough furniture.

“We are not extremely short because we have enough for the infant department. The challenge is in the primary department where we use the single-combo desk and chair. Over the years some have been damaged so we need a few more,” said the principal.

When the Observer visited the facility tucked away in deep rural Clarendon, there were noticeable signs of work being done to make the teaching and learning environment more comfortable.

Perched on a hillside surrounded by thick vegetation, the relatively small school had 96 students, including 23 infants, on roll last academic year. Almost the same number is expected when school reopens in September. The infants who graduated last academic year have now moved on to the primary department where grade six students moved on to high school. With such small numbers Red Hills Primary uses the multi-grade system. This combines students from different grades into one class taught by one educator.

Principal Corriders anticipates that things will not go smoothly when school resumes.

“Our classrooms are not big enough to host two classes — like the grades five and six classes — for September and we might face challenges there. Our multi-grade classes are grades five and six, two and three as well as infant one and two. If we have another teacher then that would remedy the grade five and six issue because those are the two exit exams grades,” she explained.

Though she would welcome an additional teacher, she said the school is not among those left limping because of employees quitting.

“We are not affected by the teacher migration. I am not aware of any resignations being submitted and so we are in full preparation for the return of face-to-face classes,” Corriders shared.

Despite the termite infestation and concerns about the multi-grade system, their efforts to get ready to welcome students are far advanced.

“We will be having our staff meeting next week and then we move to get the place cleaned up. We have enough water stored in our tanks and so we will be cleaning up and fixing up for September,” the principal assured. “We are doing a partition to separate the grades three and four classes because of the noise, and we are also putting in concrete seats and tables to make the students more comfortable on the outside during lunch time.”

With COVID-19 still a health concern, safety protocols such as sanitisation stations and an isolation room are still in place.