March 18, 2021
By Ilyasa Baa
Evangelical Mission Primary School in Maromu village in the Masarakulay Section, in Ribbi Chiefdom, Moyamba District, has been abandoned by teachers, A-Z Newspaper can confirm.
The resultant effect is that several hundreds of pupils are missing out on school much to the annoyance of their parents.
A-Z Newspaper has gathered that the poor structure and other challenges have created the unfortunate situation.
When this academic year started, in October, over five hundred pupils residing in Rogbonko, Makuteneh, Masanbo, Maposeh and Mahombo were unable to attend for weeks because of the deplorable state of the school infrastructure owing to a heavy by storm last rainy season.
Mabinty Kamara, coal-miner, expressed her dissatisfaction to A-Z Newspaper saying her three children have stopped attending because of the accommodation and teaching challenges the school is currently faced with.
Santigie Koroma said whilst other kids in the surrounding villages are going to school, their children are idling having nothing to do when they are supposed to be in school.
Vice Chairman of Ribbi Youths Council, Alusine Koroma, aka Gentri informed us that at the moment there is only one volunteer teacher left in the school as his colleagues have already left the village for greener pasture.
He said the Youths Council has knocked on doors for assistance so that at least the school could be transformed into corrugated sheet structure, locally referred to as panbodi.
He disclosed that they have received a donation of t a bundle of corrugated sheets from one Victor Mahoi as goodwill gesture to bolster education in that part of the country.
He said they have held meetings with the parents of the pupils and explained to them to exercise patience as they are making frantic effort to transform the structure so that the pupils will return to their classes as soon as possible.
The Minister of Basic and Secondary Education, Dr. Moinina Sengeh had since promised that the Ministry will strive to resolve the infrastructural gap undermining free quality education in especially rural settings.