As Ebola spreads, teachers in Mambasa call for classes to be suspended

Teachers in public primary schools in Mambasa 3, in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Ituri province, are asking for classes to be suspended as Ebola spreads.

At a general meeting of their union on Saturday, Sept. 5, the teachers proposed distance learning as an alternative. They said confirmed cases and community deaths were increasing in the Niania health zone, about 350 kilometres southwest of Bunia, while several schools lacked adequate Ebola prevention measures.

The teachers said their request followed provisions made by the national education ministry. But the provincial education director for Ituri 1 urged them to continue teaching while observing Ebola prevention measures. He said distance learning would be considered only when an individual school is directly affected by the outbreak.

Some schools in Nizi, in Djugu territory, have also not resumed classes. Several parents are refusing to send their children because they fear the disease. The provincial education director said the government, with support from its partners, was continuing efforts to strengthen prevention and Ebola response measures in schools across Ituri.