BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – A temporary classroom rotation system has been put into place at the Basseterre High School to accommodate the over 800 students and its teaching faculty, as the learning institution works towards getting back to a state of normalcy although only one of the two campuses is currently fit for use.
This morning (Jan 16), students of all forms, First to Fifth, returned to school and classes were conducted on the eastern campus.
On Monday (Jan. 7) however, classes recommenced for the Fifth Form students only, who along with their teachers were accommodated at the Anglican and Methodist Church Halls in Basseterre, St. Kitts.
The eastern campus is located on the East Park Range entrance while the west campus is at the Victoria Road entrance.
SKNVibes visited the school early this afternoon and spoke with Principal Carlene Morton.
Asked how the day had been going, Morton responded, “To me it went pretty well. I was expecting a little more chaos than we had, but the children seem to be very happy to be back. A number of parents came with their children and we took the opportunity to give them a little walk through to see what work has been done to bring the facility up to at least reasonably acceptable for human use and that kind of thing. So those are some of the things we have been working on.”
Morton talked about the school’s improvised classroom arrangement.
“First and Second Formers came in the morning. This afternoon, we have Third right up the Fifth. That is our schedule. We start as early as 7:30 a.m. and the first rotation would go down until 12:30. Second rotation starts at 12:30 and finishes around 5:00,” she said.
Minister of Education Nigel Carty gave a public update on the BHS on Sunday (Jan. 13).
He revealed that today was the tentative date for the school to officially open following the contamination matter, and he confirmed the date last night during his remarks at the sitting of the National Assembly.
Carty said a report on investigative research done on the school on November 21, 2012 was received by his Ministry on Thursday (Jan. 3).
He informed that on the following day a meeting with parents was held at which a decision was made to have the report reviewed by a team of experts, which he called the Report Review Committee.
He said the team was appointed on January 8 and met on the following day to review the report and make recommendations. The report was available the following day and the Committee met with the Ministry to explain its finding and recommendations.
“I am personally grateful to the team for its demonstrated deep interest in and care for the welfare of the students and teachers of the BHS, and for their meeting with the staff on Friday and parents on Saturday. I know that teachers and parents share an equal sense of gratitude in this regard. The team’s work was expeditious yet very thorough and decisive,” he remarked.
Carty publicly thanked, on the behalf of all concerned, Clement ‘Bouncin’ Williams, Science Educator and Chair of the Committee; Dr. Patrick Martin, Chief Medical Officer and Paediatrician; Dr. Milton Whittaker – Analytical Scientist and first investigative researcher into the BHS problem, Dr. Jaya Sankar, Medical Doctor representing the Parent-Teacher Association; and Dr. Thelma Phillip-Browne, Medical Doctor representing the St. Kitts Teachers Union.
The Education Minister revealed that his Ministry accepted the report of the Committee and all of its recommendations.
One of the suggestions, he said, is that the school’s western campus should not be used until declared safe. Prior to the resumption of classes on that campus, the following corrective measures must be satisfactorily addressed under professional guidance:
(i) The cleaning of all areas affected by excessive dust and mould;
(ii) The repair of structural defects in the roof, walls and pillars; and
(iii) The buildings in question be gutted and retrofitted (removing all wooden, porous and wet structures).
Carty noted that the Committee concluded that the Trinidad-based Caribbean Industrial Research Institution’s Report received on January 3 is a credible one done by a reputable organisation, and that “based on the Report, the excessive build up of dust and mould in the areas studied by CARIRI were problematic and could have been the cause of symptoms being experienced by the students and staff of the school”.
