Teachers stayed away from work en masse at the Good Shepherd Primary School, forcing the school to close early on Monday, as a staff crisis deepened.Officials told Barbados TODAY that the action by the teachers was directly connected to Friday’s disruption of classes that also prompted the school’s early closure of the Prospect Road, Fitts Village, St James school as police officers were called in.In a statement on Monday, the Ministry of Education said it was forced to close the school as 18 teachers called in sick.“Due to the inadequate number of teachers present to effectively manage the student body and class loads today, Good Shepherd Primary School had to be closed,” the ministry said.Following a site visit, Barbados Union of Teachers vice president Julian Pierre, who is also the chairman of the union’s health and safety committee, said a meeting was held with the educators on Sunday evening in which many teachers expressed discomfort about returning to the school.The Ministry of Education insisted that following the meeting, no communication was made to highlight the teachers’ concerns and the ministry went ahead to put measures in place to offer support to staff and students on Monday.
