News

Scottish schools being plagued 
by vermin

By Iain Harrison

FILTHY schools in Scotland are being plagued by rats, mice, fleas, cockroaches and other pests. 

Shocking documents passed to The Sunday Post reveal hundreds of vermin infestations since 2007.

Incidents include cockroaches in classrooms, rats in kitchens, flies in dining areas and ants in swimming pools.

Almost 900 pest control call-outs have been made to schools in Fife alone with more than a third relating to rats and mice.

Other local authorities report similar problems. Mice were found in a kitchen cupboard containing vegetables in Inverclyde.

Flying ants

A headteacher in Angus ordered a clean-up after flying ants infiltrated his office. It was one of 300 incidents in the region in the last three years.

Pest controllers were called to a school in Moray after teachers complained of insect bites.

Almost half of the 204 reports in North Ayrshire were about ants, 20 involved rats and there was even a call-out to deal with squirrels invading a primary classroom.

There have also been problems in pre-school groups. Of 184 incidents in the Scottish Borders, one involved a nursery nurse calling for help after spotting rats.

Last night opposition parties and parents’ groups raised questions over standards of cleanliness in educational establishments.

John Park, Labour MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, said, “These disclosures are very worrying and parents will be genuinely concerned at the level of vermin infestation in some schools, particularly in Fife.

“Pupils, teachers and those working in school buildings should not have to put up with this.

Investigation call

“Councils need to address the vermin problem as quickly as possible and the SNP government needs to put more resources into the school estate to make sure we see a better quality of schools being built.”

Eileen Prior, of the Scottish Parent Teacher Council, also described the situation as concerning and called for an investigation.

She said, “This raises all sorts of health issues. Many schools are not fit for purpose and this may be a consequence of that.

“We can’t ignore this. It would make sense for councils to concentrate on preventions rather than cures.”

Last night council chiefs played down fears the infestations could lead to health problems.

A spokesperson for Angus Council said, “Our cleaning specifications and close monitoring of cleanliness in schools allows us to quickly identify any rodent activity.

Pest control

“That means the pest control contractor is called in at an early stage, ensuring that infestation does not become an issue. Any inference of unhygienic schools is incorrect.”

Douglas Chapman, chair of Fife’s education committee, added, “We have the highest number of schools and nurseries compared to any other local authority in Scotland and many of these buildings are in rural areas where field mice and insect infestation might be more of a issue. 

“We have also been left with a high number of temporary hutted classrooms from years of Labour rule. Huts with warm spaces underneath make very attractive homes for rodents but can also be very poor accommodation for learning and teaching.

“That is why we’re putting £126 million into our new school building programme and an additional £3.2 million in this year alone into removing ‘temporary’ huts.”

Officials at the Scottish Government appeared to blame the previous Labour-Liberal Democrat administration for the vermin problem.

A spokesman said, “This Government inherited a legacy of 260,000 pupils in poor or bad condition school buildings and in just two and a half years that number has dropped by more than 100,000.”