Published 5 October 2017
Buckie Got It, St. Kitts and Nevis News Source
BHS holds regular classes in the open; West Basseterre MP expresses concern of deteriorating performance of students
BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, OCTOBER 5TH 2017 – After abandoning the two-campus Basseterre High School on Victoria Road and East Park Range and construction of a multi-million dollar temporary structure at Taylors, regular classes are being held in open areas on the premises.
“Today, two and a half years later, our students at the Basseterre High School are having classes outside in the open, under the gazebo, between the buildings and at the back of buildings,” disclosed Hon. Konris Maynard, the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) Member of Parliament for St. Christopher 3 (West Basseterre) during Wednesday’s Issues programme on Freedom 106.5 FM and Kyss 102.5 FM.
It is said that up to three to four classes are held under the gazebo at the temporary facility.
“The students at the Basseterre High School are said to be struggling to pass as a result of the unsuitable learning conditions and lack of proper facilities. The results at the Basseterre High School have shown the tremendous and negative effect that the sham of a high school has been having on our students. The performance of the school in the last few years is said to be the worst on record,” said Mr. Maynard, who pointed out that students cannot have the wholesome high school experience.
There are credible reports that students at the Basseterre High School are struggling to pass subjects. Promotion exams at the end of the 2016/2017 school year were said to be the worst in several years in that the marks were so very horrible that it was extremely difficult to place students for the 2017/2018 school year that started last month.
“While this (Team Unity) Government is crumbling with the issues that are facing them, in the meantime our education system and particularly at the Basseterre High School, is suffering as well. And at whose cost? In the short term the students, but in the long term, the country because unlike you and I, who had options at the Basseterre High School to chose what we wanted, – physics in a lab, chemistry in a lab, biology in a lab, information technology in a lab, French in a lab, Home Management in a lab and woodwork or metalwork in labs, the students today at the Basseterre High School, do not and cannot have that wholesome experience,” said the West Basseterre MP.
“This is very unfortunate. It is wrong and we must not let it slide or go unnoticed. What is the government doing?. Against all reasonable suggestions and expert advice, all reasonable thoughts and all reasonable options, (is) to build a new high school on the aquifer on the eastern part of Basseterre that provides millions of gallons of drinking water to the Basseterre area and its surroundings daily,” said Maynard, who noted earlier that Team Unity members while in opposition used the Basseterre High School issue for political gain, claiming that it was contaminated.
“They went above and beyond what rational people would do to ensure that they scared parents, teachers and students into believing that something was wrong with the Basseterre High School, despite the fact that respected local scientists, from the Trinidad-based Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), the Trinidad-based Caribbean Industrial Research Institute (CARIRI) and the world renowned Washington D.C.-based National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) have all recommended that the school that we know at East Park Range and Victoria Road could be inhabited and would be a school in good condition after remedial works were completed,” Maynard reminded listeners.
“None came to a conclusion that something was wrong with the school, but the Timothy Harris-led opposition at the time sought to use fear mongering and scaring people with a health issue in order to bring them political victory at the cost of our youngsters and at the cost of their education,” Maynard said.
The Team Unity group had the support of the BHS Principal, Mrs. Carleen Henry-Morton, the President of the St. Kitts Teachers Union, Bishop Ron Collins, Dr. Thelma Phillip-Browne and some parents and students. Strikes, sit-ins and demonstrations were used to politicise the issue. Today, Mrs. Morton is now the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism headed by her brother in law, Hon. Lindsay Grant; Mr. Collins, then Guidance Counsellor was first promoted to act as BHS principal and is now the Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Ecclesiastical Affairs and Dr. Phillip-Browne, who was the physician for some of the ill students is now the St. Kitts and Nevis Ambassador to the United States in Washington, DC.
Since taking office in mid-February 2015, the Harris Government has removed three wooden buildings from the original site and is using them as classrooms and the principal’s office at the temporary location in Taylors.
Desk, chairs, tables and air condition units were also removed and installed at the temporary BHS facility as well, as the Verchild’s High School.
MP Maynard also pointed out over the past few days the government has been using the very same grounds of the Basseterre High School for the practicing of the armed forces and uniform groups for the Independence Parade. The grounds of the school is also used as official parking areas for Music Festival CPL matches and other major events at the Warner Park Cricket Stadium.
Photo: A class being held in the open on the premises of the temporary Basseterre High School at Taylors.
