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n a nationwide broadcast on Friday, education Minister Sen. Nigel Carty said that while his Ministry supports the decision of the arbitration panel,its position had not changed in terms of a commitment to resolve the BHS issue.
Freedom Fm presents the text/audio of the Minister’s address:
Fellow citizens and residents of St. Kitts and Nevis, I address you today on the subject matter of the Basseterre High School. Starting on Wednesday October 22, I began to systematically chronicle the developments at the school with respect to complaints about the school’s environment. I have to date given three presentations on this matter, the last one being a comprehensive Parliamentary ministerial statement given on Friday October 24. I should inform you that based on an agreement among the following stakeholders – school management, BHS PTA, the SKTU, MOH, PWD and the MOE – we had refrained from making public statements on this matter. This communication agreement was reached based on the concerns expressed by regional agencies that adverse communication about the school was itself having some impact on staff’s and students’ wellness and the relationship of their wellness to the school’s environment.
I quote from the CARPHA report: “…In keeping with previously published research, the perception of symptoms has increased in the wake of publicity and the publicized renovation of the school. [Handal et al 2004]”
Further, the communication plan we have agreed upon set out the following protocol in respect of the surveillance of the health issues at the school:
1. The placement of an experienced nurse at the school to receive and document complaints
2. Seeking the intervention of a medical doctor where required
3. Relying on CARPHA – the Caribbean Public Health Agency – in addition to the local Health Authorities, in assessing the state of affairs at the school.
This we thought was a reasonable thing to do in the circumstances. In fact, it was the right thing to do.
That notwithstanding, one of our challenges has been the non-adherence to that plan by some stakeholders. The health concerns that have been expressed have not been well-documented. In many instances, there has been no documentation provided that would assist public health officials in fully assessing the depth and breadth of the health issues complained of.
A recent public health report that assessed the complaints made by staff and students and documented by the school nurse identified chiefly a pattern of concern among asthmatic and allergic persons and made related recommendations.
In the circumstances, the MOE has always been open to working with the allied agencies of the government and local stakeholder groups, and to seeking advice from regional and extra-regional agencies on environmental health matters. This we felt would engender a higher level of confidence in the process geared towards a resolution of this matter.
Over the last couple of weeks, numerous parents have expressed their deep concern that their children were not being taught at school. Some teachers too registered their concern for their students. There has been a spectre in the community regarding the welfare of students and teachers at the BHS.
With those concerns in mind, and an extant impasse, the MOE, invited the stakeholders to participate in mediation on the issues. That process which was started on Tuesday was completed yesterday, Thursday. A series of actions to redouble our efforts to resolve all outstanding issues, including doing further investigative work, has been agreed. It was also agreed that this would necessitate a return to the shift system with the WAHS. On this matter, the WAHS has been advised and the teachers and parents of that school will respectfully be allowed some time to think through the required adjustments.
I am keenly aware that this resolution does not meet everyone’s expectations but it is one that can serve the interest of all stakeholders. There have been many parents who have tried to impress upon the MOE to keep their children at the BHS. We understand their position and appreciate their view. Their central concern however is the education of their children. I was particularly heartened to hear the response of one parent who said: “Well, this is not what I was looking for but I think I can live with it.” A teacher at the WAHS remarked, “I was hoping it would not get to that but we will adjust to the situation.”
I know that the BHS matter has become a very polarizing one principally because of polarising statements that have been made by certain commentators. However, we must choose this moment to rise above the negative and look after everyone’s wholesome interests.
I have heard it said by some that essentially a major component of the BHS conversation is the desire of many parents, teachers, alumni and members of the wider community to see a BHS harking back to its heyday. I wish to assure you that the BHS of today with regard to the physical state of its infrastructure and facilities, after a EC$7 million upgrade, is better than the one I attended 25 years ago. On the eastern campus work will be done to further improve the physical condition of two remaining blocks.
As an alumnus myself, I recall the pride with which I wore my colours as I strutted through the gates of the BHS, and the sense of delight I have always experienced in telling of my connection with the school. For some reason, in our consciousness, the BHS was la crème de la crème. I am aware too that other schools have sprung up and matured into reckoning forces. It has been said that over the last 10 years, there has been a decrease in enrolment at the BHS, and while I believe that this is generally true for many of our secondary schools over the same period, all of this has served to contribute to a perception of the relative diminution of our alma mater, the BHS.
None of this however should serve to make unfounded conclusions about our school. The BHS, as other schools, will continue to be further developed to meet the educational and training needs of our developing society.
May I say to you that as part of your government’s medium term plan, there is a plan to radically change the landscape of education. Although we have made huge strides that account for our leading the entire region on the educational front, from pre-primary upwards, our vision is one that surveys the landscape of possibilities to further empower our people.
This plan starting at the primary school level involves the introduction of a new mode of continuous assessment of our young boys and girls. The time has come for the rigid, once per year, pass or fail model of Test of Standards to be phased out and for us to engage in the new model of continuous assessment throughout the school year. Our children will gain in confidence as they see their performance dramatically improve in all academic disciplines, as their fate will not be tied to one end-of-year test. Evaluation exercises will involve group work which teaches collaboration instead of interpersonal competition. An incorporation of age-appropriate project work will encourage entrepreneurship, build attributes of personal initiative and ground students in the civic, mathematical, language and scientific literacies. We will therefore introduce the Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment starting at Grade 6 in the upcoming school year.
For our secondary education system, our plan includes a reorientation of our curriculum to provide a component of technical and vocational training and the arts for all of our students. To ensure very high quality, each secondary school will become a centre of excellence for a range of technical disciplines and the arts. Classrooms and other workspaces will be self-contained. Workshops will be state of the art. Teachers in technical disciplines, science and mathematics will be systematically recruited. Schools will be further upgraded to meet the requirement for this new vision.
This government is committed to ensuring that we not only have safe schools but learning institutions that appropriately challenge our students, hone their talents and prepare them for living in our evolving socioeconomic space.
I thank you