Education at Risk: River Gee's Depecpo Public School Lies in Ruin

RIVER GEE COUNTY, LIBERIA: The Depecpo Public School in Deabo Parken, River Gee County, is becoming a life-threatening learning environment for students who sit under crumbling roofs to pursue education.

Depecpo Public School, one of the oldest in the Southerneastern region is said to be grappling with longstanding infrastructural challenges, ranging from dilapidated classrooms, offices, chairs and a poor sanitary environment among others.

The situation has claimed the attention of many across the county, as parents, educators and community leaders alarm fear over the well-being of students relative to the deteriorating state of the school.

The school’s principal, Daniel Copeland, recently told the journalists that the severe shortage of classrooms, desks, and administrative offices, has made it increasingly difficult for the school to accommodate its growing student population.

According to Copeland, overcrowded classrooms and weakened structures have created an unsafe learning environment that poses serious risks to both pupils and teachers.

Established in 1972, the Depecpo Public School was originally constructed through community self-help initiatives. Over the decades, residents have made goodwill gestures to recondition the school's facility whenever damages occurred.

However, the Depecpo Public School Principal said the scale of the current deterioration has surpassed what the community is capacitated to handle.

“The people have done all they can. The building is badly damaged, and the community can no longer continue with self-renovation,” he explained.

Due to the prevailing constraints, the school administration has been forced to erect a temporary structure to house offices for teachers, the registrar, and the principal — an arrangement that further highlights the urgent need for permanent facilities.

The School authority says the infrastructure crisis is compounded by staffing challenges. According to information, the Depecpo Public School currently has only two government-paid teachers, supported by five volunteer instructors.

Principal Daniel Copeland has therefore appealed to the Ministry of Education to place additional teachers on the government payroll to improve teaching and learning outcomes in the area.

Meanwhile, several residents have expressed frustration over the outlook of the school, and said it indicates a neglect of education in the county.

“Since the time of our forefathers, there has been no government project in Deabo no school, no health facility, nothing. Are we truly part of River Gee County or Liberia?” said, one of the residents, Mercy Nyanpan.

Residents at the same time called on the county authority and the national government to swiftly intervene and restructure the Depecpo Public School's facility.

Many believe that doing so will restore pride for education in the County.

The Depecpo Public School, an Elementary and Junior School, is said to be one of the major hubs for access to Education in River Gee, particularly in Deabo Parken, hosting hundreds of pupils from different locations.