BONG COUNTY – In the villages of District Two, the school day does not always end with the bell. At one school, it can end with the rain. At another, it can end when the only available teacher has to leave for Gbarnga. These are the daily realities at Beletanla Public School and Blemeyea Public School, two institutions that residents and staff say are being asked to educate children with far too little.
By Selma Lomax, [email protected]
Learning at the Mercy of the Weather
Ask residents of Beletanla about their school, and the conversation quickly turns to the roof. According to those who spoke to journalist Exodus Weah of Super Bongese, a local radio station in Gbarnga, during a visit to the campus, the damaged roof and the lack of chairs have left the school in a condition that is not conducive to teaching and learning.
The damage has had a direct effect on attendance in the classroom. Residents said that last year, students were sent home whenever it rained because the building could not shelter them.
In a country where the rainy season stretches across many months, that means learning at Beletanla can stop at a moment’s notice. Residents fear the pattern will repeat if nothing is done, and they worry that the missing chairs and the failing roof will keep disrupting academic activities.
The Parents Who Pay
The pressure on Beletanla does not end with the building. The school currently has two teachers assigned by the government and two volunteers. The volunteers are not on any official payroll. Instead, residents say, members of the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) make small financial contributions to pay them.
The arrangement keeps the school running, but it rests on a fragile foundation. Half of the school’s teaching staff depends on the generosity of parents rather than on a government commitment, and every contribution is a reminder that the state has not fully met its responsibility to the school.
A School with One Teacher to Spare
A short distance away, Blemeyea Public School, also known as Barsee Kpangbai Public School, faces a different but equally serious challenge. Its acting Principal, James Kollie Kpontah, says the school is operating with only two teachers, and one of them is currently unwell.
With one colleague out of action, Kpontah has taken on the teaching of students from the ABC class through the fifth grade. It is a demanding load for one person, since the range spans the youngest beginners and pupils several years ahead of them. Every child receives a smaller share of a single teacher’s attention.
The strain was visible during a news-gathering visit by journalist Weah on Monday. Kpontah explained that he dismissed the students before 1:00 PM so that he could travel to Gbarnga. The second teacher, reportedly ill, was not actively teaching on campus. With no one else to take over, the school day came to an early close.
Kpontah also disclosed that Blemeyea lacks sufficient instructional materials, a shortage he says is affecting the learning environment. For a teacher already stretched across six levels, the absence of teaching resources makes an uphill task steeper.
The Same Story, Told Twice
The details differ from one school to the other, but the outline is the same. Beletanla has a broken roof and no chairs, while Blemeyea has a shortage of books and materials. Both rely on very small teaching teams, and both depend on individuals, whether volunteers, parents, or an acting principal doing the work of several teachers, to keep classes going.
Children bear the cost. A pupil who is sent home because of rain, or who spends the day in a crowded multigrade class, loses more than a few hours. Over time, those lost hours add up, and rural pupils risk falling behind their peers in better-equipped schools.
A Phone That Rang Without Answer
FrontPage Africa sought comment from the Bong County Education Officer, David Boakai, on the conditions at both schools and on any plans to address them. Those efforts did not materialize. The Education Officer’s phone rang endlessly without response, and no comment was available at the time of publication.
The silence leaves important questions unanswered. Is the county education office aware of the conditions at Beletanla and Blemeyea? Will more government-assigned teachers be posted to the schools? Are repairs to the roof, the supply of chairs, and the delivery of instructional materials under consideration? Residents and school officials are waiting for answers, and this newspaper remains open to hearing from the county education office.
For the people of Beletanla and Blemeyea, the requests are straightforward. They want a repaired roof, chairs for the students, additional teachers, and materials to support learning. For PTA members who have quietly carried the cost of volunteer teachers, a lasting government solution would bring long-awaited relief.
Until that support arrives, the children of District Two will keep coming to class, and their teachers will keep doing what they can with what they have.
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