2023-10-04 16:09:58
Tuesday October 3 is the start of the 2023-2024 school year in Guinea. But, students skipped the first classes in several public and private schools in the town of Ratoma.
At Kipé 2 primary school, Ratoma commune, only 30 were present out of 1,424 students. The director, Mountagha Souaré, believes that the independence festivities have something to do with it. “The opening has been effective, there is enthusiasm among the authorities. We noted the presence of 23 teachers out of 26, or 98%.” He is delighted to have received two ministers in his school, the general inspector of education as well as the municipal director of education of Ratoma. At the Kipé 2 public college, out of 1,600 registered, only 250 students clocked in. Aleko Doré, the principal speaks of a “gloomy recovery”, but was satisfied with the visit of the administrative authorities, in particular the regional inspection and the municipal Directorate of Education.
At the Djibril Tamsir Niane high school in Ratoma, the principal, Linsang Dramé, perceives things differently. According to him, the responsibility for the gloom of the start of the school year is shared. He explains that he opened the school doors at 7 a.m. However, we recorded the presence of around thirty students in two classes: “The teachers are ready to teach lessons, but it is not the tables that they are going to teach. Of the 1,188 expected students, 50 came.”
The principal protests: “In Guinea, it is generally the students who decide when they return to school. The responsibility lies with the parents of the students, because they are the parents and those primarily responsible for the children. Great awareness is needed to reverse the trend. If the authorities have decided to resume classes on October 3, people should comply with this decision.” For him, the celebration of October 2 does not explain the gloom of the start of the school year. “If we have to celebrate, we shouldn’t go beyond the limits and we know that we have classes in the morning.”
At the Sainte-Marie private school group in Nongo, when we arrived (2 p.m.), neither student nor supervisor were present. At the Turkish-Guinean Maarif schools in Nongo, students without school uniforms come to get information. School administrators were in a preparatory meeting.
At this rate, it is unlikely that classes will actually start before Monday, October 9.
Abdoulaye Bah
#Students #shunning #schools