By Erasmus Williams
Basseterre, St. Kitts, March 20, 2018 – Prompted by several persons – former students of the Basseterre High School (BHS) – the original buildings abandoned by Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris, his Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Hon. Shawn Richards and the Team Unity Cabinet, were visited Tuesday morning.
“I and several other past students have been asking the school officials for our transcripts and have been told ‘we have to go down to the other building at Victoria Road for them.’ It has been months for some and weeks for others and to date we have not been able to get them,” one of the former students said Saturday.
An opportunity arose Tuesday to visit both the Eastern and Western campuses and what was seen is indeed appalling.
Documents, numerous personal files of students were observed strewn on the ground, on shelves and in filing cabinets in the area that housed the office of then principal, Mrs. Carleen Morton-Henry.
A photocopying machine and other documents were also burned.
Trophies and plaques showcasing the achievements and hard work of several generations of students, former principals and teachers were sullied on the ground, on shelves or on the walls.
While most of the rooms were empty, several were strewn with debris. Evidence existed that some rooms were habited by persons in the past.
In one classroom on the Eastern Campus someone scribbled on a white board “Goodbye Basseterre High School, You will be missed.”
******A pictorial of the classroom above the Metal Work Shop, the auditorium and the principal’s office is attached.
