Teachers and Parents in Eastern Congo Seek Ebola Delay to School Reopening

With schools due to reopen September 1, families and educators in Ituri province say health protections must be strengthened first.

Parents and teachers in eastern Congo are asking authorities to postpone the planned September 1 reopening of schools in Ituri province, where a fast-moving Ebola outbreak has continued to spread.

Congolese health authorities reported 5,713 confirmed cases and 2,744 deaths in the outbreak centered in Ituri, according to Associated Press reporting. Officials describe it as the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record.

Teachers say they want classrooms to resume but believe students and staff face unacceptable risks while transmission continues and protective measures remain inadequate. The local teachers union met in Bunia, the provincial capital, to call for an assessment of the outbreak before a decision on reopening is made.

The concern is particularly acute for young children: available health data show that children age 4 and younger have the highest case-fatality rate in the outbreak, at 60%.

The government has begun installing health and sanitation equipment in some locations. But advocates say a safer return will also require better information, resources and community confidence. Authorities in Ituri did not immediately respond to the AP’s request for comment on the call for a delay.

For parents weighing the return to school, the choice is not framed as education versus safety, but as whether schools can be made safe enough for children to attend without carrying infection back to their families.