Photo: Prince Collins/IRIN. Many classrooms remain empty in Liberia following nationwide shutdowns due to the Ebola outbreak.
Source: IRIN
Ebola: Back to school, but is it safe?
By Prince Collins and John Sahr Sahid
Monrovia/Freetown, 20 February 2015 (IRIN) - More than two million
pupils in Liberia and Sierra Leone are heading back to school after a
six-month shutdown caused by the Ebola outbreak. Authorities have taken
steps to prevent further transmissions but conditions in both countries
leave room for concern.
“I am afraid to go to school,” said Sam Joekor, a 15-year-old student
in Monrovia. “We are still hearing news about Ebola in some
communities. You don’t know who you will come into contact with on
campus, so I am really afraid. I don’t want to die from Ebola,” he told
IRIN.
But according to local authorities, both countries are ready. Some
schools in Liberia resumed class 16 February; the rest must open by 2
March, or face fines. Sierra Leone says it plans to reopen schools
nationwide by the end of March.
“We don’t think [the decision to reopen] is premature, because we now
have the ability to adequately deal with any cases that are reported,
particularly in the schools,” said Abdulai Bayraytay, government
spokesperson in Sierra Leone.
There and in Liberia, hundreds of teachers have been trained on how to limit transmission.
Hand-washing stations have been installed at many schools across
Liberia and will soon be in place in Sierra Leone. Before any child or
teacher enters the classroom, he or she must disinfect their hands with a
chlorine solution. The temperature of each student and teacher will
also be checked each morning.
At the first indication of fever or sickness, students will be sent
to an on-campus emergency isolation room, before being referred to a
local health clinic, as part of a newly created referral system in
Liberia.
Liberia’s Ministry of Education says parents have also been warned
against sending their children to school if they show any signs of
illness.
Film by Ricci Shryock
Nagging concerns
In Liberia, more than half the schools don’t have a regular supply of
water. Large quantities will have to be carried to the hand-washing
stations each morning from neighboring wells.
Some schools in in the more remote areas of Liberia, where schools
were originally scheduled to open nationwide on 2 February, still have
not received safety supplies, such as buckets, chlorine solution or
thermometers, due to poor road conditions.
“Imagine the practicality of 300 children washing their hands one by
one…and then having each of their temperatures taken each morning,” said
Steve Morgan, country director for Save the Children in Liberia.
“There’s a real time factor for those children moving through and doing
all those things before they even get into the classroom.”
While teachers have been trained on how to prevent transmission, many
complain that such healthcare duties will only add to the burdens of
large class sizes and lack of assistants.
“So there will be a lot of challenges and we are aware of these
challenges,” Morgan said. “But that notwithstanding, it’s a great thing
that kids are going back to school.”
Fear and poverty
Ramsey Kumbuyah, the deputy education minister for administration in
Liberia said many children “have no hope of getting back this year
[because] they lack the funding” for fees, uniforms and other supplies.
Many were orphaned by Ebola, while the parents of others lost their jobs due to the outbreak.
“My father died from the virus in August,” said 26-year-old mature
high-school student Elijah Toby. “He was the only person that was
responsible to pay my school fees. Now I have no hope…I have no money
and my Mum is not working…. Ebola has put me way behind.”
Experts IRIN spoke to warned that many of these older students, such
as Toby, will likely drop out altogether. Some, even the younger ones,
may have had to take on work to help their families during the outbreak
and will also not return.
Other students will be forbidden by their family to go to class for fear of catching Ebola.
“I am really worried about the safety of my children,” father Samuel
Tar told IRIN, in Monrovia. “I still have doubt that they will be safe. I
don’t trust the school.”
There is also concern that ongoing stigma problems could keep children who are Ebola survivors out of the classroom.
Education lag
Despite the creation of ‘teaching by radio’ programs in Liberia and
Sierra Leone, which allowed students across the country to listen to
daily lessons and complete exercises in their homes, not everyone
participated and the lessons were often generalized to include more than
one class level.
“What they probably have done is help to continue to whet to the
appetite to learn and continue to ensure that children were engaged in
the education system,” Morgan said. “So in that sense they played an
important role. But it could never be more than a bridge.”
Sierra Leone’s Inspector Directorate of the Ministry of Education,
Mohamed Sillah Sesay, told IRIN: “The Ministry knew that such programs
would not have a very huge impact. But we had to do something to help
the students.”
Teachers, who themselves were also idle for many months, say they
worry that the long delay in “real” education will affect student’s
school performance.
“Ebola made our children forget lots of things in school,” said Mary
Thomas, who works in Liberia. “Some of them have forgotten about basic
math and hardly know how to comprehend. I am worried.”