Gbarnga, Bong County – Left without an option, about 3,000 students of a government-run elementary school in Gbarnga, Bong County, are forced under leaking roofs to attend classes.
John F. Barkalu School located in the populated central Liberian town was built more than two decades ago.
It has no records of any rehabilitation works done on the facility since a violent storm de-roofed the school in 2017.
Josiah B. Kollie, a teacher from the school, says the roofs of the classroom have been damaged for many months and despite pleads to renovate the building, the county leadership and the Ministry of Education are paying deaf ears. Speaking to FrontPageAfrica, Kollie said the safety of the students is at risk while calling for the refurbishment of the school building the soonest.
Meanwhile, some of the students, who had no option but to sit under the leaking roofs, are said to be developing cold and fever.
FPA reporter in Gbarnga observed that some of the students showing symptoms of flu.
“No measures have been taken by the Ministry of Education to resolve the leaking roofs or to clear the accumulated water atop the school,” Kollie said.
A teacher in the school, who described the situation as worrisome, said it could hinder quality learning since pupils, too, would be careful not to express themselves, too, loud to avoid disturbing learning on the other side of the classroom.
The educator said there was no response from the government despite numerous pleads for the authority to come to their aid.
However, some of the needs of the school, according to the administration, include fencing of the school, provision of furniture, computers, textbooks, library, classrooms, toilet facility and potable water.
When contacted for his reaction on the state of the school, the new County Education Officer, James Zuannah, who said he was aware of the poor condition of the school, said plans were underway to renovate the facility during the next phase of the renovation of schools in the county.
He said, “I particularly know the school. It is part of the next batch of schools to be refurbished.’’
For his part, the chairman of the Bong Legislative caucus, Senator Henry Yallah, said the school was not the only one lacking adequate learning facilities in the county.
He noted that there were some schools in the county that are in the worse situation, adding, that the Bong caucus was attending to them in phases.
“We are trying to intervene in all the schools in phases. There are more primary schools in the county,” Senator Yallah said.
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