After cinemas, the metro and the TGV, bedbugs are now attacking schools. On Wednesday September 27, students from the Flora-Tristan high school in Noisy-le-Grand (93) alerted their teacher to the presence of a bedbug in their class. The well-identified pest is reported to the management of the establishment who alerts the Île-de-France region and the rectorate of the Créteil academy while evacuating the classroom.
Management then called on a company that treated the block by cryogenics. But only this block and not the others, due to lack of funds (the operation cost 10,000 euros). This led teachers to file a right of withdrawal and many parents, worried, to not send their child to class on the Friday and Saturday that followed.
The risks of reinfestation
“The high school has around 1,000 students and around a hundred teachers and staff,” explains Guillaume Hoibian, professor, SNES union leader and member of the establishment’s Board of Directors, “these are all homes that could find themselves infested, with the risk of reinfesting the establishment afterwards. Especially since we live in a working-class neighborhood and the costs of getting rid of bedbugs are very high. »
If, according to the rectorate attached by 20 minutes, the students were moved to another block for the duration of the intervention and the products dissipated, the teachers refused to return to class in the absence of a complete diagnosis of the entire establishment. Diagnostic ultimately commissioned by the region, under pressure, and which will establish, according to Guillaume Hoibian, the presence of bedbug nests in the infested building.
Who does what ?
Above all, this alert highlighted the disagreements between the different parties. According to the union official, the rectorate’s response to the report was light: “They did not propose any protocol and worse, minimized the case by saying that there was no health risk, no danger, and that classes should continue. » The rectorate will still end up sending a school doctor to the school on Friday to discuss bedbugs.
But the region is also under fire from criticism. Accused of remaining silent for two days before agreeing to take charge of the diagnosis. Above all, she informed the establishment that it had to take charge of all disinfestation operations. “A huge burden for an establishment like ours,” explains Guillaume Hoibian.
The region defends itself
A data against which the Île-de-France region is defending itself, contacted by 20 minutes : “As soon as it was informed (Thursday 28/09 by the rectorate), the Region immediately contacted the high school, which had sufficient working capital to cover the expense. This is a hygiene and health issue that is the responsibility of the head of the establishment, who must have the doubts resolved and/or disinsection carried out. As with Noisy, all Ile-de-France high schools have funds for this type of situation. If they were not sufficient, the Region would of course cover the supplement. »
Above all, the teachers and the establishment regret the lack of clear protocol. To which the Region responds that it has “distributed information dedicated to establishment heads, which explains the method to follow in the event of suspicion or presence of bedbugs. This guide includes the instructions of the Ministry of Ecological Transition (removal of doubts, use of approved organizations, etc.).”
A response which does not convince the rebellious deputy for Seine-Saint-Denis, Thomas Portes who issued a press release to ask the rectorate of the Créteil academy as well as the Ile-de-France region to “ ensure that all precautions are taken to deal with this problem in educational establishments” before asking for “real national action […] to fight against this phenomenon which affects all sectors of society”.