THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION wants nothing more than a clean and safe environment for teachers at Louis Lynch Secondary School.

"We will get to the bottom of the environmental problems," said Minister of Education Reginald Farley yesterday in a telephone interview. "But I can't reject all that has gone before. I have no quarrel with the expertise".

"The scientific team from the University of the West Indies said that the school is safe in its December 2005 report and until they say otherwise the school will stay," he added.

Farley was responding to a call from the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) for the school to be placed in a "less hostile environment".

The Ministry of Education is guided by the findings of the scientific team and the recommendations of the Task Force set up by the Cabinet.

President Karen Best said on Thursday that since the school returned to its Whitepark Road, St Michael compound on January 4, a total of 25 teachers had fallen ill and were experiencing illnesses such as sore throats, itchy skin, sinus problems, burning around the lips – the same that they experienced in April last year.

Farley said investigations were ongoing, an epidemiological study will be done by PAHO through the Ministry of Health, and the Labour Department was working on some guidelines regarding occupational health.

Students spent a term at the Mount of Praise Wesleyan Holiness Church in Tudor Bridge and the Church of the Nazarene's Tabernacle at Eagle Hall while the scientific team probed the environment.

They found that the levels of perchloroethylene or PERC were "way below the acceptable levels" and safe for the school to relocate.

On the issue of substitute teachers, the Minister of Education said they were concerned there were a number of teachers absent and given that students had lost "considerable time" last school year they moved "swiftly" so they would not find themselves in a compromising position. (DS)