The Angolan government is putting its best efforts into containing the new virus, COVID-19, and remaining one of the few countries without a confirmed positive case. This has led to various drastic measures including the cancellation of all flights in and out of the country and the closure of all international airports, as well as the closure of all public schools, in the respective order. Airports are closed for a period of at least 15 days, due to be revised for an extension based on the situation of the pandemic on a global scale. This measure does not apply to ships arriving at ports bringing goods for public consumption.
Following international standards and prioritising the health and safety of students as well as the school’s Mission statement, Luanda International School has closed its campus. Murmurs and rumours had begun the days prior to the confirmation announcement. “Online learning’s gonna be hella rough”, said one of the students. There was clear discontentment coming from the upper secondary students, especially those within the Diploma Programme years. There was a sense of “we’re going to miss out on so much of the content and be hella behind when we come back”, as many students said around campus. As teachers tried to explain the reasoning behind the decision put forth by the board of directors, panic grew. Students were disappointed and the top of the upper secondary building was tense. There were silent conversations, whispers and even tears. Senior worried about not having a graduation ceremony or “missing out on content that will be necessary for the May exams”.
For the younger students campus closure translates to extended holidays. Social media posts were based on complaints. It was expected and anticipated that school closed, contrary to the older students. The sooner school closed the better. The conversations on the bottom floor of the upper secondary building were much different from the top floor. “If other schools are closing, why isn’t ours?”, I heard as I passed by a crowd of year 10 students. There was a feeling of liberation, a desire to escape, one that is felt when someone feels trapped. For the first time, I felt students beg to stay at school. “Why can’t school just close at the end of the week”, a Diploma student said. “There’s a week left to go, no one is infected, there aren’t even any confirmed cases in the country”, another one responded. Three days of school was enough to calm the nerves. All the Diploma students wanted was some extra time to get their things together and feel as if their time wasn’t getting cut short “unnecessarily”.
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