All around Guinea you may have heard children’s joyful chatter yesterday and a big sigh of relief from their parents. Monday, January 19, 2015, was the start of the school year.

The 2014/2015 school year should have started several months ago, but because of the Ebola crisis, the government had ordered schools to remain closed as one of the measures to halt the spread of the virus. This meant that more than 2 million children stayed home, with little to do.

The Ebola crisis is stabilizing

The first cases of Ebola infection surfaced in Guinea more than a year ago. Since then, the World Health Organization reports that the country has had 2,800 cases, leading to more than 1,800 deaths.

The infection rate in Guinea stopped climbing in November 2014, and has only recently started to decline. In early January 2015, Guinea had about 16 cases per day, which is a third of the number in Sierra Leone and 5 times the number in Liberia.

During the time that schools were closed, the government was busy not only ensuring that those who were sick were quarantined and treated, but also evaluating how the education system could be readied to re-open once the worst of the crisis was over.

Liberia and Sierra Leone, the other two countries most affected by the infection in West Africa, have also closed their schools.

Remaining flexible in the face of the crisis

Guinea’s most recent education program funded by a US$64 million grant from the Global Partnership closed on December 31, 2014. The grant, which supported the implementation of the country’s education sector plan was fully disbursed prior to the Ebola crisis.

During the crisis, the role of the Global Partnership for Education has been to continue to engage in the coordination dialog with partners at all levels, support the revision of the education sector strategy when necessary, and help the country transition back to delivering “normal” education. GPE’s partnership approach is critical to convene partners and capture lessons learned.

If the government had requested emergency funding for education, the Global Partnership could have quickly allocated resources thanks to procedures available for emergency situations. It wasn’t needed in Guinea because the country’s Ebola action plan was funded by the government and other development partners.

It is important to note that during the crisis, public school teachers were still being paid by the Ministry of Education.

Ensuring that schools are safe for children

Thanks to emergency financing from development partners, the country was able to rapidly procure flash thermometers and washing kits, which have been delivered to all schools. The thermometers, used properly, can ensure that children with fevers are directed to health services rather than entering the classroom.

The practice of systematic hand-washing dramatically reduces the likelihood of virus transmission especially for children coming from households where there is a sick family member. Funding also helped the country purchase learning aids, set up new water points and install new latrines.

Teachers have been trained in monitoring children during the school day and in ensuring that those who display signs of being sick (fever) are isolated quickly. They were also trained in explaining safe practices to children such as frequent hand washing and avoiding physical contact with people who are sick.

In addition, through the recently approved Stepping Up Skills Project, the World Bank is supporting the development of a youth observatory with which Guinea will maintain a database of the profile and location of all young people. The observatory will assist the government to locate people better in case of future outbreaks, and thus contribute to a better tracking and monitoring system.

New funding from the Global Partnership

In December 2014, the GPE Board of Directors approved a new grant for Guinea of US$37.8 million. The grant will help the Ministry of Education to move ahead from Ebola. It will help improve access and learning for marginalized children strengthen the Ministry’s management capacity.

The Government’s Ebola action plan, designed to address the Ebola epidemic, has been covered by other sources of funding.

However, the GPE Board of Directors informed partners in Guinea that if the situation warrants, it would be possible to restructure the program later to orient it toward the Ebola response.

A joint sector review is planned for February, which will give partners and the Guinean government the opportunity to assess how the schools are faring and what they may still need to make sure children can learn in a safe and peaceful environment.

So yesterday was indeed a great day to start school. My hope is that children in Liberia and Sierra Leone will also be able to go back to school very soon.

The following partners have provided support to the government of Guinea, procuring equipment that made the re-opening of schools yesterday possible: GIZ, Child Fund, Plan International, Fédération de la Croix Rouge, Save the Children, UNICEF, and AGUICOM (Association Guinéenne des Compagnies Maritimes).

Douglas Lehman is an Education Specialist at GPE and the country lead for Guinea, Chad, Mali, Rwanda and South Sudan.