By Abass Jalloh
As the Ministry of Basic and Senior Schools (MBSSE) discloses plans to ban trading of Valentine's gift items around schools, vendors of memorabilia items have expressed dissatisfaction over the said intention of “banning sales of Valentine’s Day Memorabilia on school grounds.”
MBSSE on the 8th February 2022 wrote an open letter to school authorities in a request to ban the selling of “memorabilia” on February 14, Valentine’s Day.
The ministry said, having acknowledged and appreciated the works and partnerships they have been enjoying with the school authorities, the selling of memorabilia (something received as a remembrance of someone) will have an effect on the pupils in school environments.
“While this activity has the potential of breaching the peace and tranquility within the schools, we believe that it also sends out the wrong signal, especially as most of our pupils largely misconstrue the whole essence of the feast,” the statement from the letter reads. “We are very mindful of the potential threat to our child protection obligations in school environments.”
The statement added that “the feedback we have been receiving this week indicates that as we approach the celebration of the Feast of St. Valentine, street vendors have invaded school entrances and perimeters and are selling Valentine’s Day regalia and merchandise.”
In a request to prevent this, according to the ministry, in as much as the Local Councils in Sierra Leone “regulate street trading within their municipalities and cities,” it is requesting prevention by placing a ban on the selling of these products.
“I am directed to humbly request that you cause these traders to desist from trading around our schools particularly in Valentine’s merchandise,” it reads, adding that “Our schools must remain the safest spaces in society.”
Eyewitness around the area of the Freetown Secondary School for Girls (FSSG) and St. Joseph’s Covent School told Politico that immediately after the publication of the letter concerning the request, authorities went to order the vendors to desist from the area of the schools. After that, according to the vendors, they had no option but to find another area nearby the schools to continue their business.
Zainab Conteh says she is one of the vendors who was ordered by the authorities to desist from the area and entrance of the FSSG School.
“Really the teachers do not have the problem with our selling,” Zainab said, adding that what led to the order from the authorities was one “kekeh” rider who hit an FSSG student trying to cross the street,” he said.
Zainab further says she does not have any kid who attends any of the two schools but comes all the way from the east part of Freetown to sell. She added that the selling of these memorabilia items is not limited to “just pupils” but also adults.
“They need to allow us for just this time,” she pleaded. “Since they have warned us this time, next year it will not repeat.” She explained that “normally we have our constant business other than Valentine; we are just doing this for the sake of the day [Feb 14].”
Like Zainab, Marie Sesay also sells memorabilia items at the roadside just after crossing the street from the entrance of the FSSG School. She also said that she was involved when they were ordered to desist from such by the authorities.
“We are not feeling good,” Marie expressed her feeling, adding that they are not selling for the sake of the pupils. “We sit here for the sake of the people passing with their cars who may likely visit the expensive shops to buy these things.”
People over the years have expressed concerns over what they describe as a direct target on school pupils especially girls by vendors who mostly occupy entrances of all-girls schools with Valentine memorabilia.
“I am very happy about this ban. Targeting these girls directly with such items and initiatives of intimate relationships is very dangerous for our society. It is one of the causes of teenage pregnancies and school dropouts,” said Mrs. Cole, a civil servant.
Copyright © 2022 Politico Online (11/02/22)
