Edo Pupils Learn On Bare Floor – Community Seeks Govt’s Help

People of Ofunmwegbe popularly called Okada junction in Ovia South West Local Government, Edo State, Southern Nigeria have called on the State government to come to their aid and rebuild the only primary and secondary schools in the community which are in a dilapidated state.

Gatekeepers News reports that the residents while decrying a situation where pupils sit on the bare floor in their classes also said several appeals which have been made in the past did not get a positive response.

The Chairman of the Community Governing Council, Imuentinyan Ighodaro who spoke to PUNCH on Tuesday, lamented that parents have started withdrawing their wards because of the poor state of the schools.

Ighodaro said “The school was not fenced and that has made it possible for hoodlums to also go in there and vandalise the place. As we speak, there are no windows and all the roofs have gone bad. There are no ceilings, no chairs, and the children right now sit on the bare floor to learn and because of that, many parents are withdrawing their children from the school.

“The floors are also broken. The whole of the school is in very bad shape. We have a block of six classrooms and another block of five classrooms. We have government teachers there but they are not enough.

“As a matter of urgency, we want the government to come to our aid and put the school in order for our children. They should renovate it and erect fence to secure it and stop hoodlums from coming in. If the government is able to do this, the community will provide security personnel to guard the schools.”

A staff member of the State Universal Basic Education Board, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the state government was adopting a holistic approach to schools rehabilitation in the State.