The Department of Health is taking a new approach to get school facilities cleaned up before the new school year starts.
DOH is now placing large red, hard to miss signs with the words ”CLOSED” and “CONDEMNED” on schools that are found during their inspections to be unsanitary.
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So far the red signs have been posted at four high schools and 13 elementary schools mainly due to unclean cafeterias, classrooms and bathroom facilities.
The high schools are Samoana, Tafuna, Leone and Nu’uuli Vocational Technical High School.
The elementary schools are:
Leone Midkiff-Leone
Fagalii ECE/Elementary – Fagalii
Alataua II ECE/Elementary -Seetaga
Siliaga ECE/Elementary – Aoloau
Aua ECE/Elementary – Aua
Pago Pago ECE/Elementary – Pago Pago
Matafao ECE/Elementary – Utulei/Faga’alu
Le’atele ECE/Elementary – Fagasa
Manulele ECE/Elementary – Nuuuli
Tafuna Elementary – Tafuna
Lupelele ECE/Elementary – Lupelele
Pava’ia’i ECE/Elementary – Pava’ia’i
Aunuu Elementary -Aunuu
Tafuna ECE – Tafuna
DOH officials said, “We’re doing this new strategy this year to place closed and condemned signs on the school buildings as in the past years we’ve been inspecting schools and given reports and nothing seemed to be happening.”
They said the same conditions discovered in past years are still present at the schools and their new approach is hopefully getting the attention of the Dept of Education.
Conditions like broken bathroom doors, mold on the walls, unclean sinks and toilet bowls, and water on the floors. And in the cafeterias, no hot water, inoperable exhaust fans, dirt and dead insects observed inside light fixtures covering, filthy kitchen surface, and baking pans and utensils utilized from the last day of school, all left unwashed inside sink and on counters.
The school closures were brought up during the House of Representatives session on Friday.
Reps. Ape Asifoa and Vailoata Amituanai said the closure of the schools close to the start of the new school year is a worry and asked that the House Education Committee look into the situation to make sure the issues are addressed before the opening of the new school year.
August 23rd is the first day of the 2021/2022 school year for public schools.
