The effort of the present administration to sustain and maintain the free and compulsory education policy of the State Government for Akwa Ibom people is seems to be just a scratch on the surface as its only focused and benefited by residents and people in the urban areas and cities of the state alone, while those at the rural areas have been neglected and left to suffer unduly following the lack of good educational facilities and equipments in some schools.
Recent findings revealed that a good number of pupils and students in public schools, especially those at the rural areas have for sometimes now been lacking behind as a result of not having a functional and conducive learning environments in-terms of classroom blocks, examination halls, functional laboratories amongst other educational facilities and equipments.
It has also been discovered that only few selected primary and secondary institutions at strategic locations and cities, such as International Airport road, Abak road, Aka-Nung Udoe Road and other regular visiting routes as well as some important cities and headquarters of LGAs like Uyo, Ikot Ekpene, Eket, Oron amongst others have only received a boost in upgrading of educational facilities and equipments from the state government, while some schools at the rural communities have been given deaf hear despite efforts made to attract governments attention.
However, when this Reporter visited one of the neglected schools ‘the Community Secondary Commercial School, Ikot Akpanike’ in Nsit Atai Local Government Area, the case was not different.
This Reporter who stormed the school premises at about 11:30 am on Thursday 13th April, 2017 observed the poor level of decayed infrastructure in the institution which according to investigations have produced eminent personalities, great scholars, and distinguished professionals in different field of endeavors including the likes of the current Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Linus Nkan; a senior Doctor with the Federal Medical Centre, Abuja, Dr. Uduak Samuel and a University Don, Prof Edem Udoekpo amongst others too numerous to mention.
On entering the school, right from the school entrance gate, fence, the security post, to the classroom blocks and examination hall as well as offices were completely dilapidated, thus rendering the students and teachers in an helpless situation.
The Reporter equally observed that apart from the 2 blocks of 3 classrooms each reported to have constructed by SUBEB and PTF, and another block of 3 classrooms said to have constructed by the member representing Nsit Atai State Constituency in AKHA, Mark Esset, there was no any government presence in the school as to offer a convenience and conducive learning environment to over 2000 students in the institution.
Meanwhile, about 250 students were also seen being squeezed into a dilapidated classroom block to write an exams on English Language instead of examination hall. It was a very pathetic situation.
Effort to speak with School Principal, teachers or any of the students proved abortive as the school was not in session and the final year students were busying for their exams.
The village head of the host community of the school, Ikot Akpanike was unable to be contacted as at the time of the visit.
Addressing this Reporter, a man who identified himself as Elder Effiong and claimed to comes from the community wondered why a school which was established in 1980 as a Secondary School and which has produced a lot of personalities and high-ranking professionals in the society is neglected and abandoned to die in the state of lack of infrastructures, saying that ‘a chick that laid golden eggs has been left to die in hunger’.
According to him, “if you look at were the SSS 3 students are writing their exams, that was a two different classrooms and was forcefully converted to become a hall by an unprofessional hands which suppose not to be so. That was not the original plan of the building. It was not meant to be a hall, but classrooms. But now because of lack of hall, they had to forcefully convert the two classrooms to a hall by breaking the middle wall, in which the remaining wall there could collapse at anytime. That is our fear. If we have a collapse school in Nsit Atai and have a collapse Church in Uyo, you can imagine the magnitude of destruction that would befall on the state.” He said.
Also, when contacted on a telephone, the President of Ndisiak Unity Forum, Mr. Daniel Ubaha who appreciated the present administration led by Deacon Udom Emmanuel for his effort in promoting and sustaining the free and compulsory educational policy in the state, and Nsit Atai Lawmaker, Mark Esset whom according to him attracted an Inter-ministerial Project of a 3 classrooms’ block which is yet to be commission in the school said he has been briefed severally about the deplorable state of the school situated in Ikot Akpanike village which happened to be one of the villages in Ndisiak Group of villages.
“Since you are calling me in respect of the deplorable state of infrastructures in the school, I want to place on record first and foremost, the effort by H.E. Deacon Udom Emmanuel for at-least giving the school a scratch on the surface and the representative of Nsit Atai in the AKHA, Rt. Hon. Mark Esset because the Inter-ministerial project of a 3 classrooms’ block which was constructed late last year and yet to be commission was attracted by him. But that is not all, we really appreciate what they have done”.
Ubaha, who also doubles as the political leader of Ikot Akpanike and a retired WAEC Official noted that WAEC has a policy which is before any school could be given approval to present candidates for exams, there must be among other things a functional examination hall which is the major perquisite for approval to any school to present candidates for WAEC or NECO exams.
“But in our own case, the structure which used to served as an examination hall was an old structure constructed many years back when the school was a primary school before it metaphors into a secondary school. The hall has completely collapsed. I hope you are in the school and have seen where the final year students are writing their exams today, and you have see the terrible state in which they are in that hall. Because there is no hall there and those compacted of what supposed to be a classroom block many years back with no doors, no roof, nothing was break as to convert it to a hall, and that is just where they are being squeezed in to write their exams.
“The roof is completely gone. If rain comes like it rained yesterday, the students would be running from one place to another looking for a place to stay and that is not concussive for examinations’ conduct or even examination functionaries.”
He further narrated that the school has been in a terrible state for years now and therefore, called on the state government to comes to their aides by putting an end to the long suffering of students in the school.
“The whole structure as you can see there have completely collapsed and are no more in used.
“I think what prompted you to visit the school today is the last night tragedy were the heavy storm uprooted the roof of the only functional classroom block in the middle of the school. We are appealing to government and other relevant authorities to please, as a matter of urgency comes to our aide.”
“This is the only secondary school we have in Ndisiak. It feeds other local government areas surrounding us. If the school was to be in session, you would have seen students from Ibesikpo Asutan, Uruan, Nsit Ibom LGAs amongst others”
“Another problem we are having in the school is that when teachers are posted there, they would arrived there first and after a month or so, they work their way back to wherever they came from because the facilities in the school are not conducive for teaching, not conducive for learning either.
When asked of the effort put by the people of Ndisiak to end the present situation in the school, Ubaha noted that as a community, they can not do much in-terms of school administration, “but we have made our contribution in our own little ways to ensure that the school is secured and we also make sure that the intruders do not comes in to take over government properties, since the school is a government school.
“Beside that, we have a very strong PTA, but you would agree with me that the parent cannot carry out the renovation of the school because it is not in their capacity to do so. So, please we need help from the government, he concluded.”
However, effort to speak with the state commissioner for education on the state of the decay and dilapidated structures in the school was not fruitful as he refused to answer several calls put across to him by this reporter.
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