The Barbados Union of Teachers is advocating for a systemic overhaul of school maintenance protocols, demanding mandatory industrial cleaning across all educational institutions at least once annually. Julian Pierre, the union’s vice president and chair of its occupational safety committee, emphasized that reactive measures are insufficient to address persistent environmental health concerns disrupting academic activities. His comments follow the temporary closure of St. Ambrose Primary School, where additional ventilation work is underway after industrial cleaning resolved a severe cockroach infestation. While acknowledging improvements in the Ministry of Educational Transformation’s maintenance program—including off-hours and vacation-period work—Pierre highlighted the critical challenge of aging infrastructure. Many school facilities exceed forty years of service, requiring comprehensive preventative maintenance beyond current efforts. Pierre proposed implementing a rotational cleaning schedule distributed across Easter, summer, and Christmas breaks to prevent overwhelming resources during summer months. He further stressed the necessity for inter-ministerial coordination, particularly involving health authorities for environmental checks beyond school buildings themselves. Key concerns include water quality monitoring, vegetation management, and systematic pest control through regular baiting protocols. Although recognizing the efforts of the Education Technical Management Unit, Pierre insisted that true industrial cleaning standards must be consistently enforced, moving beyond superficial disinfection to address deep-seated infrastructure challenges in Barbados’ educational system.