BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE protest launched yesterday by a couple of teachers and students of the Basseterre High School (BHS) grew to more than 10 teachers and 65 students today (Oct. 22) who reiterated their demand for a safer working and learning environment.

SKNVibes visited the scene this morning to find the placard-bearing students shouting, “We need a new school and we need it!”

The obviously frustrated students spoke candidly with this publication expressing their frustration with the current state of affairs and their dissatisfaction with the way the situation is being handled.

Some of the students said they have experienced illness and rashes which they believe are as a result of prolonged exposure to the BHS environment.

One student declared, “I have problems with stinting in my hands and feet. I need a safe school…”

“Boils came up on my feet” one child explained while another indicated that she gets constant headaches while at the school.

Another spoke of “chemical burns” which appeared on her face.

“We need a safe school to help the students and teachers as we work in our environment and we need a new school…”

Another student suggested that a new school is not what is wanted but it is needed.

One teacher expressed to SKNVibes that she is not necessarily being affected although she sometimes gets sick. But she indicated that she believes in solidarity and she is standing “firm with those students and teachers who have being affected”.

Another teacher – who joined her counterparts but also spoke on condition of anonymity – expressed her view that “the school is unsafe” and that a plan of immediate action needs to be implemented which would see the school body being relocated until the situation is rectified.

“We have teachers who are on sick leave because of the situation here. It’s headaches, skin rashes, it is a number of things, a number of symptoms and all we keep hearing are promises to meet, meet, meet. Everything is always a meeting, meeting, meeting and we have decided we have had enough.

“It is not enough of the yes we are going to have a meeting then off again and on again, and we decided we’ve had enough. People keep saying that it is a political move. This is not a political move. I love my school, I love my students, I enjoy what I do. We just want to be able to work in a safe environment for both students and teachers. The students are suffering in more ways than one. It is our children’s future, it is the future of this country. Something needs to be done...

A reliable source within the school told this media house that since the commencement of the new school year in September, 2014, until somewhere around mid-October, there have been 252 reports to the school’s nurse. The population of the school is approximately 760.

“According to their statistics, there are saying 11 are recidivist cases, however, I do not agree because teachers on blocks, they get complaints from students with a headache on one day and later in the week, the students say they are not going down there because all the nurse is doing is recording and she is not doing anything for us. So those numbers are even more.”

The protest began shortly after 10:30 this morning and appeared to have concluded less than an hour later. 

SKNVibes has since learnt however that a group of students and teachers assembled at the same spot sometime after 1:00p.m. in continuation of their protest.

Following this morning’s protest, SKNVibes made several attempts to contact Minister of Education the Hon. Nigel Carty for a comment and those have not been successful.

Attempts were also made to contact Minister of Health the Hon. Marcella Liburd but those also proved futile.