Some 115,000 pupils began returning to school in Mayotte on Monday, six weeks after cyclone Chido devastated the French Indian Ocean archipelago. Conditions remain difficult for both teachers and pupils and some schools remain shuttered for the time being.
The start of the school year, scheduled for 13 January, had already been postponed twice due to the severe damage caused by Chido and storm Dikeledi.
Despite calls for further delays, the education authorities went ahead with Monday’s reopening, stressing the importance of staying in touch with pupils.
However,39 of Mayotte's 221 primary schools and three of its secondary schools will not open immediately due to extensive damage.
For both teachers and pupils alike, it’s a difficult time.
"I’m quite pessimistic because conditions are very degraded," high school teacher Olivier Thomas told RFI.
He works at the Sada high school in the western part of Grande-Terre – one of the archipelago's three islands. It was badly damaged so pupils are heading back in rotating classes, with middle and high school students attending one or two days per week.
"We’ll welcome around 650 pupils of the 2,400 we would usually have," Thomas said. "All or part of the high school is inaccessible due to repair works. There’ll be no canteen, no access to labs, so it will be a very difficult and very unusual new term."
The primary school in Chiconi, Grande-Terre, opted to delay reopening altogether due to safety concerns – a joint decision between local authorities and parent representatives.
"We made a collective decision not to open the school," said parent rep Fatima Mouhoussini. "I cannot allow my son to go into a school where bits of ceiling are falling off, water is leaking, and electricity cables are hanging down."
Mayotte struggles to recover a month after devastating cyclone Chido
Concern over migrant children
Youssouf Abdallah, a primary school teacher and union rep, expressed concern that not all the children will return.
"Many of our pupils are from migrant families, their homes were destroyed so we don’t know if they’ll come back. They may have disappeared," he told RFI. "The ones that don’t have the means to go elsewhere and are not injured will certainly return," he added.
Even before the cyclone, Mayotte’s education system was under strain. A 2022 report highlighted the inefficiency of the system, with overcrowded schools operating on a rotating schedule and offering limited school meals.
Last week, around 300 teachers protested over the "makeshift" nature of the new term.
Adda Fatihoussoundi, president of the local parent-teacher federation (FCPE) called the reopening "premature" and criticised the lack of adequate safety conditions.
Some schools have also been affected by break-ins and looting following the cyclone, and teachers are concerned about the psychological impact that could have on students.
As a back-up, French and maths lessons are being broadcast daily on the local television channel for older primary school students. Psychological support units have been set up, and a free helpline is available 24/7.
Nearly 1,200 students have opted to continue their education outside Mayotte, mostly in Reunion Island.
French PM Bayrou unveils ‘Mayotte standing’ reconstruction plan
The French Minister for Overseas Territories, Manuel Valls, acknowledged that the return would take place "under difficult conditions" and is due to visit Mayotte later in the week to assess the situation.
He caused controversy over the weekend calling immigration to Mayotte a "plague" that was “gradually killing" the archipelago. He said it needed to be reduced to "virtually zero".
Tensions on the archipelago were reignited last week when migrant families who had lost their homes in the cyclone were given accommodation in a middle school in Mamoudzou. The school will remain closed until at least 3 February, RFI’s local correspondent reported.
