Madagascar plague outbreak delays start of school year

By Sandra Rabearisoa

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar (AA) - A plague outbreak in Madagascar that has claimed over a hundred lives since August has also disrupted numerous activities across the country, including the education sector.

The closure of the schools has become the most controversial governmental decision in Madagascar as the start of the new school year has been postponed several times.

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry has reported no child death was caused by the contagious plague epidemic. But, at least 124 people have died since August, while more than 1,000 suspected cases of the airborne pneumonic strain of the disease have been recorded and 948 cured, according to Malagasy authorities.

Initially scheduled on Oct. 2, the official start of the new school year in Madagascar has been postponed three times.

The Education Ministry first decided to postpone it a week. Then, with the rise in deaths and the rapid spread of the disease, it was postponed again for a week. On Oct. 21, the ministry jointly with the National Directorate for Private Schools of Madagascar (DNEPM) announced that school would only resume on Nov. 6 for districts located in areas where the disease had been detected.

The postponement affects Educational Support Zones (Zap), located in 25 school districts of Madagascar, including the capital Antananarivo and Toamasina -- on the eastern sea coast -- where deaths from the plague were the most numerous. Classes have resumed normally in areas that have no reported cases.

- Anger of Catholic school authorities

On Oct. 21, the Diocesan Directorate of Catholic Schools (Didec) decided to challenge the latest postponement.

The measure is detrimental to pupils, according to the Didec, which criticizes the monthlong delay and the lack of transparency in the management of the epidemic. The Malagasy school calendar consists of 39 weeks.

"If schools are closed, does that mean that the plague is transmitted only in school? Why do other sectors continue their activities?" Father Ludovic Randrianantoandro, vicar general of the Diocese of Antananarivo and spokesman for the Catholic schools of the capital, told a news conference.

He had also announced that Catholic schools would resume classes on Oct. 25. Indeed, most Catholic schools have opened since then in Antananarivo and have adopted cautionary measures against the plague.

Didec's decision to open schools has divided parents met by Anadolu Agency.

"I think my children will be safer at school instead of staying home or wandering around the neighborhood," argued Georgette, a mother who lives in Soanierana -- a district of Antananarivo.

Fenitra, a father is more protective. "I want my children healthy and I feel they are better protected at home," he said firmly.

- Cautionary measures

Some students are finding the holidays too long like Mathieu, a 9-year-old student who attends the Sisters' School in Soanierana.

"I'm happy to go back to school because the holidays have been too long. In addition, I was eager to see my classmates. My teachers reassured me that I will not catch the plague epidemic," he said.

Like many students, Mathieu has been going to school since last week. Before entering the premises, he has to present himself before a medical infrared thermometer used to detect any signs of the plague, including a high fever.

Education Minister Paul Rabary said in a Facebook post that the Didec had taken the decision to advance the school reopening to Oct. 25 independently.

He argued that the decision to postpone the start of the school year was "taken with the agreement of international partners, such as the World Health Organization [WHO] to prevent that students be affected by the plague at school".

After the Catholic schools' decision, a group of private schools in the capital also expressed their wish to advance the school re-opening ahead of Nov. 6.

They argue that parents are reluctant to pay for school fees for the month of October since classes have not started yet. Meanwhile, establishments must still pay the salary of teachers.

To reassure those parents who remain wary, the ministry has announced a series of measures, such as the establishment of a vigilance committee in schools, as well as an isolation room for students suspected of having contracted the plague. Regular disinfection of classrooms is also planned.

As for the holidays, they have been reduced for the school districts affected by the postponement of the school year.

According to the Ministry of National Education, Madagascar has 6.9 million students, including 600,000 at the preschool level, 4.7 million students at the primary level, 1.15 million college students and 370,000 high school students.