By Noora Ibrahim.
Benghazi, 28 September 2014:
The start of the school year in Benghazi again turned out to be a non-starter today . . .[restrict]when few children turned up to classes and those who did were soon sent home.
The new school year was supposed to start at the beginning of September but was postponed in Tripoli and Benghazi until 21 September by the Ministry of Education because of the security situation in both cities. It was then further delayed in Benghazi because of the clashes between Ansar Al-Sharia and Operation Dignity forces. Today was set as the new date for reopening.
In the event, schools in places such as Garyounis, Hawari and Buatni remained closed altogether while even in the relative calm of Fuwayhat, few parents brought their children to school today.
It was not just concerns about security that stopped schools operating. “We want to start,” the headmistress of one primary school in Fuwayhat told the Libya Herald. “But we’ve no textbooks from the ministry.”
Children who had turned up to the school were sent home at midday. They usually leave at 2.30pm.
With Eid at the end of the week, it is thought that schools will now not get underway until the middle of the month at the earliest. [/restrict]