By Mark N. Mengonfia
The principal of a government-run school in Grand Cape Mount County, Western Liberia has launched an SOS call to give the institution a 21st century school status.
Sewu Public School, which is located in District# 3 Tewor District, is to have been operating since 1978 and has provided primary education to hundreds of citizens of that county over the years.
Since the 40-year-old institution was established, its structure has not been modernized.
As you can see in the photograph above, the makeshift structure is what has been there over the many years providing education to students of the Sewu, Kru, Popo Towns and other nearby villages, the principal explained to this paper.
Mr. Boakai B. Kiawu is the principal of the Sewu Public School and he is assisted by two other teachers totaling the number of teaching staff to three and they are being paid with taxpayer’s money.
When the Women Voices Newspaper microphone caught up with Mr. Kiawu recently in Sewu, he said “this place does not represent us, but what to do; our children have to go to school.”
The school has no doors, windows leaving it vulnerable to serve as home of cartels of the town (goats, sheep, chickens, and ducks among others).
Dressed in a blue African attire with a sheet of paper and a blue pen in his hand, Mr. Kiawu took a tour of the institution as he explained the challenges he and his colleagues are faced with at the institution.
Upon arrival at the school, the school was occupied by cartels who usually use the school building as a living place when school is not in session due to lack of doors and fence to prevent them from entering.
Shaking his head in frustration, the 40 year old school principal said “that is the problem we are faced with here my brother. Because this place has no means to put a stop to these cartels from entering here; they live in the building where our children are learning”.
Although I did not enter the building due to the offensive smell from the waste products created by the cartels, this made me to ask the principal how do they manage with the kind of odors and in respond he said “we can just bear it and provide education for the children.”
The institution lacks all basic favorable leaning environments as provided in the laws of Liberia.
According to Article 6 of Liberia’s 1986 Constitution says “the Republic shall, because of the vital role assigned to the individual citizen under this Constitution for the social, economic and political well-being of Liberia, provide equal access to educational opportunities and facilities for all citizens to the extent of available resources. Emphasis shall be placed on the mass education of the Liberian people and the elimination of illiteracy”.
Parts of Liberia are not feeling the impact of this constitutional provision lay down in Article 6 of the Consitution of Liberia.
Speaking further, the school administration said that due to the condition of the building they as citizens of the Sewu Town have written Senator Edward Boakai Dagoseh to help them restructure the building to give it a 21st century school look for kids of the area.
According to him, with the expected support from the Senator it will help greatly to give a face lift and provide a good learning environment for their kids.
The Sewu Public School is a primary institution that stops to the 6th grade level and is serving as a supporting arm to Gbaze Public School, the school principal has also said.
He indicated that when students complete the 6th grade level, the option is form them to go to Gbaze which is approximately two to three hours walk from Sewu or Tiani depending on the financial strength of the child’s parents or the willingness of a family member in those places to host the child or children for schooling.
Mr. Kiawu said that the total numbers of students that the school had for academic 2017/2018 was 183 and few are expected to get promotion to 7th grade thus paving the way for them to go Gbeze or Tiani to advance their education.