ABIA: DECLINE OF A PACE SETTER

[SunNews]

•Decay, ruin take over Aba public schools

By ORI MARTINS and OKEY SAMPSON

Living in the past glory Abia commanded an immense respect among other states in the country because it was a force to reckon with when it comes to education.

Abia was a pace setter in many ways. Take a glance at this: The first vice chancellor that administered the prestigious University of Lagos (UNILAG) and indeed the second VC Nigeria ever produced was Prof Eni Njoku, a scion of Abia State. Nigeria's first Head of State and the first African to command a United Nations Peace Mission, General J.T.U. Aguiyi-Ironsi, was a son of God's Own State.

The indefatigable Dr. Michael I. Okpara who distinguished himself in his capacity as the Premier of the defunct Eastern Region, hailed from the state. Probably, one of the greatest academic legacies Abia bequeathed to Nigeria and the wider world was the edifice known as Government College, Umuahia.

The contributions of this great institution to Nigeria's growth and development are too legendary to mention and may not necessarily bear repetition here.

Any person who grew up in the former Eastern Region would have known the education exploits of Methodist College, Uzoakoli, near Umuahia. It was another astonishing institution that made the area now known as Abia State an academic pillar in Nigeria in those glorious days. To demonstrate the fact that Abia State was the pride of the people, it has produced leading politicians, established entrepreneurs, sound professionals and well known businessmen.

It is not for nothing that Sen. Uche Chukwumerije, Prof Anya .O. Anya, Paul Ogwuma, Emeka Omeruah, Ndubuisi Kanu, Ebitu Ukiwe, Ike Nwachukwu and Jerry Enyeazu hail from Abia State. These were men of high intellectual capacity who pioneered or nurtured various institutions to greatness.

If Abia had such auspicious beginning, why are its public schools now in complete ruins and decay as exemplified in some institutions in Aba?

Collapse of Aba schools

The slogan, "Abia State is working and the people are happy" is now the official anthem in the state, but it is nothing more than a well orchestrated propaganda if the poor condition of public schools is taken into consideration.

A recent survey carried out by Education Review on some public schools in Aba, the commercial hub of the state shows that not much is working; Thus, there is every reason not to be happy about education in the area. The worst is that some of the public schools the authorities claimed to have transformed into model schools are just nothing, but mere shanties.

For example, the pathetic condition of National High School (IBONACO), Aba is indeed quite revealing. Established in 1948 by the now defunct Igbo National Union for the Advancement of Education in the then Eastern Region, the school is today a shadow of its glorious past.

The school is both dilapidated and decayed. What served as dormitories to students in the 1970s are now homes to rodents and reptiles. The situation was so bad that the old boys of the school, under the leadership of Azubuko Udah, a retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG) retd., decided to come together and save their alma mater  from total collapse.

The old boys' association therefore embarked on the rebuilding of the old administrative block, renovation of some dormitories, including the perimeter fencing of the school and lots of other things.  It is also on record that the Boys' Secondary School, Eziukwu, Aba (SAHARCO) is another institution that is wearing ugly looks and there are so many others that fall within this category.

Maybe, the state government would argue that it has handed some of its secondary schools to their original owners and would therefore not be held accountable for their decay or neglect; what about the primary schools wholly run and managed by the state that are still in deplorable conditions?

Education Review can authoritatively reveal that some public primary schools are at various stages of collapse.  At Etche and Danfodio Roads primary schools, it was evident that the schools have suffered severe neglect.

While most of the primary schools in the city were built by missionaries, Etche Road Primary School was one of the few Local Authority (LA) schools built by the government of the defunct Eastern Region with a touch of modernity.

Sadly, the school is a far cry from what it used to be. Although the Headmaster, Chief  Godwin Nwakanma, was not around when our correspondent visited  the school. One of the teachers who wouldn't want  her name in print, said the population of the school had gone  down by at least 70 per cent  due to lack of infrastructure. "You can see that the place is in ruins.

Almost all our facilities have either collapsed or on the brink of decay. This has affected our population as no parent would want his ward enrolled into such a dilapidated school. The result is that the student population has gone down by at least 70 per cent", the teacher said.

She said that apart from dilapidated classroom blocks, there were no seats for the few pupils, whose parents allowed to attend the school, perhaps as a last resort. It is disheartening that some classes in the school which hitherto boasted of over 50 pupils, now have less than six. The reason for this, according to investigations, is the deplorable condition of the school structures which can easily upset the parents or guardians as well as their children or wards.

The distance from Etche Road Primary School to Clifford Road and East Street Primary Schools, two institutions that share one compound, is just a stone's throw.

The two schools were established as one in 1948 by the Assemblies of God Church, Aba as a model primary school. When it was taken over by the government, the school was split into two, each administered by a headmaster.

But currently, one of the schools, Clifford Road Primary School is a shadow of its old self, as one of the main structures, a one storey building with over 20 classrooms is in state of disrepair. It is difficult to believe that such a miserable place is still being used as a study centre in the 21st century. Elsewhere, the Technical Secondary School, Ehere, is equally in a terrible state due to gross negligence.

The massive structure which could have housed more than half of the pupils has been de-roofed and nobody cares a hoot about it. If nothing is done urgently, the building might collapse soon, putting the lives of teachers and students in jeopardy.

The two headmistresses of the schools, Mrs. Justina Okorie and another who did not disclose her name, refused to talk to Education Review on the poor state of the school but instead referred us to the Local Government Education Authority officer who also refused to speak on the issue but rather insisted only the Education Commissioner was in a better position to speak.

While answering questions from Education Review, some parents who live within the vicinity of the schools said they were not ready to send their children to any of the schools. They anchored their reasons on two points namely – they are afraid that the dilapidated structures might collapse soon and eventually fall on their children.

They also reasoned that they may be tasked to rebuild the classroom blocks immediately they enrol their children in the school. But this is far from it as one teacher put it, "rebuilding of the structure was beyond what the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) of the school could do.

It is only the state government that can tackle this problem." It still baffles some stakeholders why public schools in an urban setting like Aba could be in such a pitiable condition even as they now wondered what is then happening to schools in the rural areas.

GOVT'S DEFENCE

Former Abia State Commissioner for Education, Dr. Monica Philips, said that the Orji lead administration had embarked on an aggressive campaign to overhaul the education sector to ensure it meets society's basic needs and standards.

Apart from organizing series of workshops, conferences and seminars to build the teachers' capacity and to equip them (teachers) with efficiency, proficiency in handling their jobs as professional teachers, she noted that the state government also established resource centres and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) centres where they could upgrade their knowledge. According to her; "considering the impact of the environment on learning, the government embarked on a massive construction of classroom blocks and renovation of dilapidated ones.

Thus, in collaboration with the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), the state government deposited N1billion as its counterpart funding for UBEC fund. To put it clearly, the government has awarded contracts for 154 classroom blocks across the state".

She added; "With this huge amount of money being pumped into the sector, we now have structures coming up and the dilapidated ones are being rehabilitated".

Via: Sun News Online