BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – WITH weeks remaining before the official commencement of the new school year, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Patrick Martin has declared that regarding the implementation of recommendations made by the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), the Basseterre High School (BHS) is on schedule to reopen in September 2014.
The state of the BHS has been an issue of contention over the past several months after staffers and students complained of the environment and the negative impact it was having on their health.
The complaints of contamination of the school led to the closure of the school on a couple of occasions and the compilation of a number of reports by the Caribbean Industrial Research Institute (CARIRI), one by CARPHA.
Weeks ago, the CARPHA released its report and stated therein that while the identification of “a single cause for the health symptoms experienced by the students and staff at the school…remains difficult”, it offered several recommendations for the improvement of that immediate environment and also recommended that those outlined in CARIRI’s reports be implemented.
It was also indicated in CARPHA’s report that the organisation is “to review remediation work carried out, and ensure that all recommended work has been completed prior to any proposed re-opening of school…”
Dr. Martin – while speaking with WINNFM recently - declared that in his estimation, the BHS will open on schedule.
“CARPHA held a debriefing meeting on May 9 at the NEMA Building. In attendance were Teachers Union, PTA, School’s management, Ministry of Health Ministry of Education officials and Public Works - if my memory serves me correctly. And for two hours, CARPHA described what they did, what they found, what they’re recommending to be done pending the final report. At that time, a question was asked about reopening of the school in September. And it was very clear that we were all looking at a September reopening of the Basseterre High School…
“Yesterday another meeting was held, all of the stakeholders again… Once again it was established that we are firmly on track for a September reopening of the Basseterre High School and yesterday, with the Ministry of Education’s checklist of things to be done…started going through that one-by-one with all of the stakeholders… So it is my estimation that the school will reopen in September.”
The recommendations outlined by both CARPHA and CARIRI are 70 plus in number and some of the former’s include:
- The removal of mould found in the Theatre Arts Office
- Identifying and remedying all leaks and sources of moisture
- The establishment of a programme of environmental management, the creation of a regular maintenance schedule, the implementation of pest control measures and the management of liquid waste.
- The employment of an experienced school full-time nurse “to actively monitor the health situation in the school continuously for at least one year”.
- The proper disposal of items which are “wet, damp, badly damaged or mouldy”. And those which are not to be disposed of “should be thoroughly cleaned, disinfected, dried and treated”.
