Five weeks after the devastating passage of Cyclone Chido on Mayotte and a week before the students, teachers returned to the archipelago on Monday but some establishments have not been restored and others remain occupied by victims.
The return of students, postponed several times, is planned “from January 27”, announced Elisabeth Borne, Minister of Education, to Le Parisien on Wednesday.
“We will have a large majority of teachers present in the territory. We will undoubtedly have some losses,” declared Jacques Mikulovic, the rector of Mayotte on France Culture.
The arrangements for welcoming students “will be adapted to each school”, the Ministry of National Education said in a press release on Monday.
To “guarantee educational continuity”, “student rotation systems in classes” will be put in place and courses will be “broadcast on the Mayotte La Première channel”.
Students will benefit from “donations of school supplies” and will be able to use “psychological support”.
The 101st French department, ravaged on December 14 by Cyclone Chido, then hit by storm Dikeledi on January 12, has some 117,000 students. The Mayotte academy employs just over 10,000 people, including more than 8,000 teachers.
According to the rector of Mayotte, out of 221 administrative schools, 39 are unable to operate. And out of the 33 middle and high schools, “five establishments (are) significantly impacted,” said Jacques Mikulovic.
-Another difficulty for the start of the school year: the establishments which served as emergency shelters and are still occupied, mainly by migrants from continental Africa.
Parents of Mahorese students are demanding their departure, like at the Younoussa Bamana high school in Mamoudzou where members of the 2018 citizens' collective entered on Friday in order to evict the victims.
“My role is to be alongside the population,” declared the departmental councilor of the canton of Mamoudzou to Mayotte Hebdo in front of the high school on Friday. “I understand that we must respect international law but we must also understand that students must return to school,” added Hélène Pollozec.
“Illegal immigration to Mayotte is a huge problem,” recognized Elisabeth Borne, but “questioning land law is not a path.”
“What was envisaged by the Prime Minister and Manuel Valls is the revision of the conditions for exercising land law and I have no problem with that,” she added.
Elisabeth Borne plans to go to Mayotte the week of January 27 to interact with the educational community, parents and students.
