MONROVIA, Montserrado – The Ministry of Education’s poorly-coordinated decisions to reopen schools across the country have led to dismal attendance at many schools.
Seven months ago, schools across Liberia were ordered closed by the government due to the Ebola epidemic. In early January, MOE ordered schools to resume classes on February 2. This date, however, has changed several times.
The ministry had earlier announced that beginning January 12, student registration, teacher orientation, and other preparatory activities should resume. Formal teachings would then commence on February 2. School administrators and students were urged to strictly observe the Ebola preventive measures.
The action of the government to reopen schools came as the result of the drastic decline in the number of new Ebola cases across Liberia.
While schools were preparing to open on February 2, the Joint Legislative Committee on Education, Public Administration, and Health recommended that schools reopen on March 2 instead.
The committee said the postponement was necessary to allow for adequate preparation of school facilities. It would also give MOE and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare ample time to deliver the necessary Ebola preventive supplies to the 5,181 schools in Liberia.
The extension, according to lawmakers was also to enable parents to raise money for their children’s tuition and uniforms.
Shortly after the lawmakers submitted the report, MOE again announced that schools would open on February 16. The ministry added that schools without the requisite instruction materials would not be at fault until March 2.
The Bush Chicken visited some schools in Monrovia and found that they were virtually empty. Shiwoh Williams, a 9th-grade student at the government-run Matilda Newport Junior High School, said he and his classmates were still confused about the exact date set for classes to resume.
He noted that most parents lack the financial means to register their children in school due to the outbreak of the Ebola epidemic. “Ebola has made everything hard in the country, and our parents are not adequately prepared to send some of us to school now.”
Williams said that though the government is concerned about their education, the timing of reopening schools is not in the right direction. He added that special consideration was needed for parents who were laid off during the peak of the Ebola crisis.
Another student, Princess Doe of the same institution, said she and other students were sleeping because they had nothing to do. She said the instructors were only teaching preventive measures to take against the Ebola virus.
Jerry Yekeku, a father of three schoolchildren, blames the government for the poor attendance. He applauded the appeals by many parents and the legislature to reopen schools in March.
Speaking out of frustration, Mr. Yekeku said he is now jobless and lacks the funds to register his children. “I was part of the nonessential staff of government laid off in August 2014,” he said.
“The hasty move by the government to resume activities before March 2 has brought serious financial embarrassment to parents [like me],” Mr. Yekeku noted.
Josephine Seekey, a mother of two children, ages 4 and 7, said she was concerned about the safety of her kids. She pointed out that they would be in close contact with other children and could contract the virus.
It remains to be seen the next decision by the government on the resumption of classes as fear still looms in both parents and students.
Photo Credit: Zeze Ballah
