As part of the joint education sector review that takes place twice a year, the Government (Ministries of Education) and the technical and financial partners conducted a field mission. We visited, among other sites, one of the schools constructed by us and that has been handed over to the Government, and has been used already. I was looking forward to seeing the children learning in the newly constructed classrooms.
We arrived at school. This school had three old classrooms, and the project has constructed three additional classrooms, so that the school can have a full cycle of primary school (from grade 1 to grade 6). We were introduced to a crowd of men including the local education administrator called Delegue Scolaire de l’Enseignement de Base, DSEE (most decentralized delegate of education administration), school director, teachers, and community leaders. Women and children were standing about 3 meters apart. After a brief introduction, we toured around the school. All of the three newly constructed classrooms were used. Among the three old classrooms, only one was used. They explained to us that the school offers 4 classes: grade 1, grade 2, grade 5 and 6.
Where are the children of grade 3 and grade 4?
I asked the DSEE.
An unthinkable response came back.
Ces enfants n’existent pas ici (Those children don’t exist here).
(How on earth can it be possible that the children do not exist in these villages???!!! You mean, there was no love-making or child-making for two years in the villages???!!!) (my heart beating and silently shouting)
Shortly after, the Ministry colleague standing next to me asked one of the children crowding around us how old he was. He did not respond, but instead his mother who was standing behind him responded that he was seven years old, and that he could not start school because they were told that the classroom was “full” when he came to register in the new school year in October. “Your child can come back next year to start the school,” told the Director to the mother. Being refused by the school Director, the child and illiterate mother could say nothing. They went home, and the child has stayed at home since.
Guinean children are supposed to be enrolled in primary school from age six.
The extreme dichotomy between what the DSEE just said and the faces of the children who have been refused to start school as the classroom is full, and who do not even know their right to education, squeezed my heart. I started feeling my eyes hot.
Despite my colleague’s consolation, I decided that I would let my tears continue to fall as I was very annoyed at the situation, and wanted the local education administrators to realize that this situation was not acceptable by any means.
One week after we returned from this field mission, my colleague who accompanied the mission brought good news. The local education administrators and the community took the initiative to identify all children of age 6 and beyond that were out of school. They also identified two teachers—one retired teacher and one university graduate. They will be paid by the community members, until the government can find and allocate additional teachers to this village. Today, over 70 identified children were enrolled and are learning in the two classrooms that had been unused.
I can bet that this situation exists in many other villages in Guinea. I cannot visit and cry in every one of them. Need to think of how to tackle this.