To go back to school…teachers demand risk allowance
As government insists on the reopening of schools by the end of this month, teachers and parents are equally reluctant to send their kids to school out of fear of Ebola. As for the teachers they are willing, but with a condition of receiving risk allowance like the nurses and doctors receive.
When this reporter asked one school headmaster in the western urban area last weekend, he confirmed that his school will only reopen if government gives them risk allowance in addition to the huge salaries they receive on monthly basis. “School children are going to be coming from deferent locations they have been for the past nine months or so. There are children who go to school in Bo, Makeni and Kenema for example who go to school in other parts of the country as soon as schools reopen you see them zigzagging all over the place; and that is risky for us the teachers, the children themselves and whosoever interacts with them”, the anonymous head teacher said.
Parents and guardians are also reluctant in sending their children to school out of fear as most schools have been used as holding centres, treatment centers, or storage for Ebola related medical equipment.
“Ebola is still here, I am not going to send my kids to school yet and besides most schools are bushy, filthy, no toilet facility and all the benches are broken and nothing has been done to refurbish them back as at now ”, one concerned parent said.
According to the PRO of the ministry of education; government is spending Le 25 billion every month as teachers’ salaries even though they have not been working for nine months now and similar amount is being spent on the daily radio/TV teaching programmes but with all these parents were still dissatisfied and were putting them under pressure to let their kids go to school but they refused as the new cases at that time were far higher than now because now the zero cases are 90%.
“We have ordered thousands of thermometers and detective equipment in readiness of any eventuality when the kids are back in school”, the PRO assured the nation on SLBC TV last Friday.
By Sheikh Alie Kallay
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