ST JOHN’S, Antigua – Students attending the Antigua Grammar School (AGS) will miss regular classes for a second day, today, after they were sent home early yesterday morning due to an infestation of fleas on the school’s compound.
The school’s principal, Myrna Isaac, told OBSERVER media she first learned of the situation when she arrived at the school’s compound shortly before 8 am.
The principal said two concerned students approached her complaining that fleas were in their first form classroom. As the day progressed, she said, the murmuring began to spread to other classes and students could be seen brushing the tiny, blood-sucking insects from their clothing and bodies.
Isaac said she notified the Ministry of Education and, subsequently, the Vector Control Board who sent personnel to investigate the problem.
The inspectors were unable to find any fleas on the first firm block where the reports originated from; however, upon further examination of the premises, they identified the lower storey of a building that houses two fifth forms and the school’s physics lab as the source of the problem.