By Septimus Senessie in Kono
As schools across the country reopened on Tuesday after about nine months break, heads of schools in the eastern district of Kono say their schools have not been prepared to function in an emergency circumstance.
President Ernest Bai Koroma declared a public health emergency on July 31 last year to stem the flow of the deadly Ebola virus that, according to government, has claimed the lives of about 3,400 lives since last May. By July the schools were in their final term of last academic year closing down to reopen the following September. But since that presidential declaration all public institutions have remained closed until Tuesday, April 14 when schools and colleges officially reopened.
Ebola has been in Sierra Leone and its two immediate neighbours, Guinea and Liberia, since early last year and the virus is transmitted through contacts with body fluids of an infected person.
In March this year, the Sierra Leone government attempted to reopen learning institutions, but deferred it, despite allowing public examinations to hold. There has however been public outcry over letting students in schools when the country is still recording new cases of Ebola.
But government has assured of equipped schools, safe learning environments and no charge in schools. It has also promised to supply food in schools.
However, all those are apparently far from reality in Kono. In poorly attended schools in the district capital town of Koidu on the first school reopening day, heads of schools reported about broken structures and lack of teaching and learning materials.
Speaking to Politico, the principal of the Koidu Girls’ Secondary School (KGSS), Bernadette Turay, explained that almost all her school furniture had been eaten by termites during the long holiday and said they could not repair or replace them because the government was yet to pay fees for pupils.
“If the government makes earlier payment before the end of this month, we will repair or replace them to provide a conducive learning environment for the children,” Madam Turay said.
She noted that a good number of her pupils did not go to school on Tuesday, but added the low turnout during the first week of school was not a new phenomenon. She described it as “the usual habit.”
Head Teacher of Koidu School for the Blind, Tamba Mathew Gbessay, pointed out that they had not received any supply yet, “not even a single learning material.” He added that the condition of the school was deplorable. At the blind school, there were only eight students who turned up on Tuesday.
Liberia reopened schools earlier, but after it announced the end of its health emergency. But government in Sierra Leone in the past few months extended the health emergency until the end of Ebola. In Freetown many parents have refused sending their children to school until the country is declared Ebola-free. However, since Tuesday students have been seen in long sleeve shirts under their uniforms.
At Koidu Secondary School (KSS), it appeared pupils went to only observe the atmosphere, as a good number of them turned up in school wearing plain clothes. The principal, Aiah Thomas, told Politico that he drove the pupils out. “We can only control pupils that are in their school uniforms,” he said.
Although he said they also had not yet received supplies from government, Mr. Thomas appealed with his staff to manage the resources the school had at the moment. He warned pupils to observe regular hand washing and avoid body contact in any way possible.
© Politico 16/04/15
