Back to School: Timid resumption at Government English Nursery School Youpwe
Just a handful of parents have braced the odds to register their children in schools in Youpwe , in the Douala 2 municipality. The demolition scare that happened just before the end of last academic year, still lives in the hearts of parents who have decided to play it safe, by waiting for proper confirmation from government on the annulment of the demolition exercise or better still enroll their children out of Youpwe .
The 2022/2023 academic school year has kicked off all across Cameroon, on Monday September 5.In Douala, Economic capital of Cameron, precisely Youpwe, in the Douala 2 municipality, resumption activities were timid at the Government English Nursery School .This institution which normally host over 100 children , had Less than 40 pupils , including administrative staff on Monday. The entire school campus looked almost deserted , with most classrooms having less than 5 pupils.
“This morning I had two kids, two girls and we have been doing our little activities that we can do this morning. I know that others will come as the week goes on. ” Madam Christina TAH , nursery 2 teacher recounts her ordeal.
“We had just 2 children this morning, a boy and a girl. I don’t know why, we effectively reopened but i can’t explain why students are absent and we are so worried . Parents are still worried judging the situation the locality is in, demolition warning and so on. In Youpwe, we keep asking ourselves, will they demolish everything or not, should they register the children or not . We are calling on the administration to do something. ”
In CEP (primary 2), it’s encouraging, as Madam Christina says;
“This morning i had 14 students, 9 girls and 5 boys. I use to have at least 50 students , so am waiting for them . I think the demolition scare is the cause for this lateness, parents are not sure school will function properly in Youpwe, there’s uncertainty, parents will not like to spend two times for one child , so they are waiting for government to intervene in their situation. ”
In march 2022, Denizens of Youpwe, were issued a warning and quit notice by the Douala Port to evacuate from an over 5-hectar piece of land they have been occupying for many years. This incident disrupted every activities planned by inhabitants including schools , reasons why parents are not ready to take the commitment of enrolling their children in school establishments around this area.
“Today is our reopening day, we have effectively started as you can see, we welcomed a few kids, we are calling on the parents to bring their kids. There was an event that happened before we closed (last school year) , some houses were broken down, it was rumored that, by this time, this school wouldn’t exist but we are here now, let parents come along with their children, we are waiting for them. ”
Activities are expected to pick up as weeks go by.
