School headteachers in Torit municipal council say they are ready to resume classes next Monday amid challenges following the launch of the reopening of schools on Wednesday.
They say much as they have washing facilities at their school premises other items for the prevention of Coronavirus have not been provided.
Valerie Afara Ohiri, the headmaster of Torit Day Secondary School, expressed his readiness to reopen the school but says the school lacks some equipment to prevent Covid-19.
“In the case of disinfection, we can do it ourselves based on our capacity that one can be done at our disposal. Then the wash facilities are also there and it is just a matter of getting water,” Afara said. “Regarding the masks, this is where the challenge is because we don’t have masks. If the number is too great, then we will be obliged to make shifts. Some will study in the morning and some will be in the afternoon.”
Kuli Agnes Jackson, the headmistress of Torit East Primary School, welcomed the reopening of schools but says she won’t start classes due to a shortage of Covid-19 preventive materials coupled with the low turn up of children for registration.
For his part, Eastern Equatoria State’s Minister of General Education and Instruction, Sammy Lopeyok Aperengole, says no child will be charged school fees apart from petty charges for catering to school affairs.
He also asked the school authorities to enroll internally displaced persons and returnees.
“We have the IDPs, they have to be enrolled, we have the returnees children who have come back from Uganda, Kenya maybe the other side also they have to be enrolled,” Minister Olpeyok said. “So our schools, public schools, there are no school fees to be charged unless you take something maybe for development, not school fees. This is what we have been directed also that no children in the public school be chased out of school because of the school fees.”
The deputy governor, Mary Lodira, commended the teachers for their efforts and urged them to adhere to Covid-19 preventive measures to curb the virus.
“For you girls, even if you are pregnant you have to come to school. I am glad the teacher said here that somebody gave birth during the exams. That is a historic moment in this state,” Lodira said.
“Whatever the situation you have gone through, you have your child, bring it up but come back to school. There is no way somebody is going to be denied school just because somebody has impregnated her. If there was justice for everybody, both boys and girls should be dismissed from school so that they look after that child until the age of five, then they come back but we don’t want to do that," she added.
Early this week, Minister Lopeyok and his Director-General disclosed that all schools have been provided with all facilities to help prevent the spread of the virus.
Imoya Joyce Tulio, a pupil at Torit Day Secondary School, was happy about the resumption of classes and called on her colleagues to boost their cooperation with teachers to recover all they had lost during the school closure.
Speaking during the launching, Acting Coordinator of UNICEF, Sonia Poni lamented that children missed a lot during the closure of schools and urges parents and stakeholders to play a greater role in encouraging children to resume classes.
The Covid-19 outbreak last year caused the closure of many institutions including churches and schools.