Goma schools set to reopen on Monday

After a five-week hiatus following the lava flows from Mt Nyiragongo that caused widespread damage in the town on 17 January, classes will resume as scheduled on Monday, 25 February, for the schoolchildren of Goma, in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). "The date will be met," Barry Sesnan, head of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) office in Goma, told IRIN on Friday. "With five weeks of schooling lost, it is very important psychologically for the children to keep to this date." He noted that the five weeks would be made up at the end of the year. Thanks to an information campaign via local radio, "every single child in Goma that was attending school prior to the events of 17 January will know where to go to school on Monday," Sesnan said. However, he lamented the fact that this applied to only about 55 percent of children in Goma, a city devastated not only by recent volcanic activity, but by years of war and insecurity, resulting in crushing poverty - making the required payment of school fees impossible for many of its residents. About one-third of Goma's schools were damaged or destroyed by the lava flows. However, students of these schools have been placed in schools which escaped damage, and this has often necessitated the construction of temporary auxiliary classrooms on school grounds. "Every bit of land available is being used," Sesnan noted. Efforts will also be maintained to continue education for displaced children now residing outside Goma. Enrolment capacities of schools will be increased through the construction of new classrooms and the running of double shifts. These schools will be supported through the provision of school kits (pencils, notebooks) and other learning materials. The "back-to-school" effort has been spearheaded by UNICEF, in cooperation with town and provincial authorities, and supported by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), including Action by Churches Together, AVSI, Caritas, Concern, Goal, International Rescue Committee, Jesuit Refugee Services (JRS), Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), Save the Children, and World Vision. "People have worked together wonderfully, there has been no individual organisational flag-planting," Sesnan said. As an example, he noted that Catholic schools were welcoming students from two Muslim schools that were destroyed. However, Sesnan cautioned that a good deal of work remained to be done. "We're asking people to be patient. It will take a long time for school benches and tables to be rebuilt, for textbooks to be replaced." Another issue yet to be resolved is the payment of teachers. While salaries can be met for an initial period, thanks to a collaborative effort among local authorities, JRS, NRC, WFP and UNICEF, "the main problem now will be to find some way to pay the teachers in the long term," Sesnan said. Meanwhile, in neighbouring Rwanda, UNICEF is supporting the rehabilitation of half the 50 schools damaged by earth tremors coinciding with the volcanic activity of Mt Nyiragongo, through the provision of education and recreational materials. UNICEF will also hold training sessions for NGOs in the organisation, implementation and management of education activities in emergency situations. Furthermore, UNICEF will ensure the participation of local education officials in order to enhance their preparedness capacities.