PHOTO: St. Francis Catholic School
By Garmah Never Lomo, garmahlomo@gmail.com
The Catholic School Education Secretariat for Maryland County has confirmed that there was what a recent fainting spell that hit a number of students on the St. Francis Elementary School campus in the city of Pleebo, which is situated over 362 miles southeast of Monrovia.
On May 31, 2021, a number of pupils fainted for several minutes after claiming to have seen skeletons, instilling fear and confusion on the school as first aid was administered while few other students were taken to the health center.
“I saw the thing coming to me and I was shouting to let the teacher know, when it slapped me,” one of the students explained.
Education Secretary, Madam Philimina Jappah told www.newspublictrust.com via mobile phone recently, that she has been informed by a psychologist that what recently occurred at the school might be what is known as “Mass-Hysteria”
She said whatever was happening is unfortunate but she is sure that there is reason for what is happening, something she said they were investigating.
According to www.medicalnewstoday.com, “Mass hysteria is a phrase that is used so often and so imprecisely to refer to anything from giving in to fashion fads to participating in riots.”
And Wikepedia says: “Mass anxiety hysteria “consists of episodes of acute anxiety, occurring mainly in schoolchildren. Prior tension is absent and the rapid spread is by visual contact.”
The head of the Maryland County Catholic School Education Secretariat said they are handling the situation that recently affected the St. Francis School, both in a spiritual and psychological ways.
Madam Jappah explained that Mass Hysteria can affect any school not only Catholic schools, adding that although she is not sidelining the African traditional side (“African science”), their Christian clerics/Pastors are all in the gap to deal with any spiritual thing.
Speaking futher, the Catholic Sister Jappah told this news outlet that she herself doesn’t know what is going on, but the school authorities are investigating to get to the bottom of what happened.
She said the investigation is also trying to establish whether the fainting spell was actually caused by Mass Hysteria as being told by the psychologist.
Students had complained of suspicious happenings before
The St. Francis school Principal, Dailcious Weah told local Journalists after the fainting incident that he did receive complaints of such suspicious happenings at the institution. But he was quick to point out that he has since contacted the Catholic Diocese of Cape Palmas head to intervene in the situation.
“This is not the first of its kind but we have receive this same complaint on campus two weeks ago, and our students were shouting and fainting, but today (Monday May 31,2021) is worse that even up to nine(9) students fainted today,” he said.
“So, we have inform the head of the diocese to see reason in at least helping to pray for our children, because since I took over this institution this is just the first time to happen,” Principal Weah said.
The May 31, 2021 situation disrupted normal academic activities at the school as several parents have threating to withdraw their children from the institution as the situation could escalate.
Fainting spell among students is not the first of such occurrence in Catholic Schools in Maryland County.
A year ago, several students of the Lady of Fatima High School had similar experience something which led several students, leaving the institution and a spiritual heads were called to pray for the school and students.