in Mayotte, the water crisis is putting pressure on an already saturated school system

“You’re going home!” With his deep voice, the director of the Longoni school in Mayotte signals the end of recess. Faced with this colossus in a white shirt, the instructions are carried out without flinching. It is not yet 9 a.m. on Wednesday October 11, but the classrooms are already depopulated. The reason ? The imposing white tanks installed near the establishment are desperately empty. However, the rule is strict: no water for the toilets, no students in the school.

In front of the school gate, a few parents collect the students in silence, as if resigned by these repeated school interruptions. “I am very angry and worried about my children,” whispers a father, in a white djellaba, a toddler in each hand. Since the start of the school year, the school has only opened its doors two days a week, in line with the water cuts imposed in Mayotte. The tanks, installed at the end of September, recently made it possible to move to four days of weekly opening. A reduced academic pace, but far from exceptional in the 101st French department.

Vats and disappointments

At the time of the first holidays, which begin on October 14 in Mayotte, more than 80 schools out of the 186 in the archipelago are still not connected to the “water path”, this parallel distribution network which supplies 24 hours out of 24 priority establishments. Without these precious pipes, these schools are subject to the same cuts as the rest of the population, i.e. two days out of three without water. A challenge which adds to the lack of several hundred classrooms in the department, where thousands of students are not in school.

To alleviate this water shortage, several hundred tanks have been installed across the archipelago. But there are many disappointments. “Some schools don’t have any, others have tanks, but they are not connected to the network, still others are connected, but there is not enough water in them…”says Zaidou Ousseni, representative of the FSU-SNUipp union in Mayotte.

A situation which risks further worsening due to the strengthening of restrictions, put in place from October 11. “With these 54-hour water cuts, the tanks are reaching their limits in certain schools”, recognizes the prefect in charge of the resource, Gilles Cantal. This 70-year-old civil servant was dispatched to the island for a six-month mission devoted to the water crisis. “New tanks will be connected during the holidays, so that schools can open as long as possible at the start of the school year on October 30”, he promises. According to the rectorate, around ten establishments still do not have this equipment.

Gastro epidemic

In middle and high schools, the situation is less critical, but still worrying. “All are now connected to the water path”, welcomes the academy rector, Jacques Mikulovic. This sporty fifty-year-old, who landed on the island in January, still judges the situation “really delicate” because of “untimely outages” due in particular to work on the network. Several secondary schools have had to close their doors for a few days in recent weeks.

Faced with these supply uncertainties, the authorities drew a surprise weapon: the water bottle. All students received a 500 ml rigid plastic bottle at the start of the school year. In front of the Dembéni high school, in the east-central part of Grande-Terre, many young people carry this water bottle in the side pocket of their backpack. Which leaves some parents wary: “How can we distribute water bottles to children when we have no water to fill them? two days out of three?”asks Haïdar Attoumani Saïd, president of the FCPE of the department, behind his thin glasses. “It’s hot in Mayotte, it’s not even enough for half a day”adds her colleague from the parents’ federation, Fatima Mouhoussini.

Teachers no longer count the number of children caught drinking tap water, despite the signs indicating that it is not drinkable. “This can explain certain gastroenteritis,” recognizes the rector. The number of cases has also started to rise again, according to the latest Public Health France bulletin of October 10.

“I have had more complaints of stomach aches since the start of the school year than during my four years in Mayotte,” worries a middle school teacher in Mamoudzou. “Some students are crying because of all this”adds a Mahorais education assistant, looking worried under his straw hat.

Sachet water battle

In order to stem the problem, a new water distribution method was tested at the beginning of October. Civil security soldiers brought 33 cl sachets to the students of M’Gombani middle school. The precious liquid comes from the purification unit urgently installed along the Coconi River in mid-September. “The students found that the water tasted like chlorine”explains Commander Luc. “They found it undrinkable, like swimming pool water,” confirms a college professor. The chlorine level, three times higher than the standard rate for tap water in France, remains compliant with standards, according to the authorities.

Plastic bags, not very practical once opened, ended up being used as water bombs in the playground. Images which did not really delight the authorities and were a blow to the morale of the soldiers working at the water treatment plant. “From now on, I have asked for the installation of jerrycans”, explains the rector. Delivery to schools in Koungou began on October 10, despite the population’s distrust of the quality of non-bottled water. “It is perfectly drinkable and controlled by the Regional Health Agency (ARS). We cannot waste a drop”, insists the prefect Gilles Cantal, visiting the school. He also plans to speed up distribution to limit class closures.

“Lost time cannot be made up for”

In the meantime, families are having a hard time hiding their exasperation. “We have already lost a lot of class hours and that cannot be made up forworries Fatima Mouhoussini, mother of three children. The level is already very low in Mayotte, so if our children no longer have to get up in the morning to go to school, they may drop out.” According to a Senate report, nearly three quarters of young Mahorais have reading difficulties, compared to 10% nationally. “The difference in treatment with the mainland is blatant”says an indignant mother, whose daughter was educated in Toulouse then in Mamoudzou.

In these conditions, some parents are considering radical solutions. “We are asking ourselves the question of sending our two children to their grandparents in mainland France so that they can be educated normally”, says a mathematics teacher. He adds : “Or we all go back as a family.” raising the idea, feared on the island, of teachers fleeing. “They often go back to France during the holidays. We are afraid that they will never come back”, worries Fatima Mouhoussini. To date, the rectorate has counted 16 departures since the start of the school year out of 1,300 teachers.

Several scenarios for the start of All Saints’ Day

While the October holidays are just beginning on the island, families are anticipating a compromised new school year. “If the crisis worsens, we are afraid of finding ourselves in the same situation as during the Covid-19 period”alerts Zaidou Ousseni, from SNUipp. “With the digital divide in Mayotte, the delay will continue to accumulate,” warns Haïdar Attoumani Saïd. An analysis shared by the rector. “Distance educational continuity is very difficult here,” recognizes Jacques Mikulovic.

In his office overlooking Mamoudzou, he discusses different scenarios for the weeks to come. If the water cuts were to continue, college classes could move to half capacity, with classes in the morning or afternoon. In high school, the students would be spread over three days a week. But the rector clings to more optimistic forecasts. “Here, schools are the only infrastructure for young people. They want to go there. So, we are going to do everything to have the most normal functioning possible at the start of the school year.”