Abasifreke Effiong
Students and staff of Comprehensive Secondary School Ikot Akpaetok/Ediam in Ibesikpo Asutan local government do not have classroms and offices for lessons and other academic activities as school resumes for third term across the State.
Rainstorm of Wednesday, April 17, 2017, had blown off what remained of the old, dilapidated roofs on buildings in the school located in southern Ibesikpo, less than 2km from the Ibesikpo Asutan local government headquarters, Nung Udoe.
Seven of the nine blocks of classrooms and offices in the school have been dilapidated. Some had the roofs blown away by windstorm.
The school was built by Ikot Akpaetok and Ediam community more than 28 years ago but was later handed over to the government.
None of the buildings has been renovation since government took over the school.
The school has not received any serious intervention even during the eight years administration of Chief Godswill Akpabio when there was massive renovation of infrastructure in schools across the State.
Government's only intervention was the contruction of one block of classroom through the ETF in 2009. The classroom block was to make up for the three blocks of building that were already dilapidated and out of use in 2009.
Affected by the latest rainstorm of April 17, in the school include five classroms, staff room, principal and vice principal office, the school assembly hall, library, and laboratories.
When this reporter visited the school Tuesday, May 2, principal of the school, Mrs Rose Ekwere and some teachers were sitting under in a mango tree in front of her office destroyed by the windstorm.
Other staff were compiling students results under the shade of other trees.
Books donated to the school library by government have been drenched and are still under the wreckage of the library.
In a save our soul, concerned citizens of the school's host communities, Ikot Akpaetok and Ediam and the PTA say government negligence of the school was pathetic.
Taking journalists around the facility, a joint team of concerned indigenes of Ikot Akpaetok and Ediam and the PTA, led by Obong Okon Edet Akpan said the school needed urgent and holistic intervention by government.
Obong Akpan said the host communities had written letters to the State ministry of education on decayed infrastructure in the school many times, but there hasn't been any positive response.
This was also corroborated by the school's PTA chairman Elder Aniekan Etim Udoinyang and the village head of Ediam, Eteidung John Thompson Udo.
"We have written many times to the Ministry of Education attaching photos of the dilapidated and collapsed blocks of classroms. Each time we go to the ministry to complain that our letters have not been treated, they will say go, we are coming", Obong Akpan said.
The principal of the school, Mrs. Rose Ekwere said she had written to the State Secondary Education Board on destruction caused by the windstorm.
"As soon as I saw the incident, i wrote to the State Secondary Education Board. The board has not responded yet. But the education monitoring team from the local government came and took note of what happened.
A monitoring team from the office of the deputy governor had also visited the school".
She explained that the school hall where the students were writing WAEC was blown off, the library, principal and vice principal's offices, staff room, and junior secondary classes.
"The children don't have any event centre, so those writing WAEC are using the basic technology lab".
Part of the lab is dilapidated.
"The technology lab is where the SS3 students are taking their exams. The lab is not convenient though", the principal added.
Chairman of the PTA of the school, Elder Aniekan Etim Udoinyang said he has alerted the two host communities and will soon convene a meeting of parents to see how to get help for the school.
Udoinyang appealed to the government to come to their aid so that students will have where to stay and study.
A youth from one of the host communities Mr. Paul Edet lamented that there was no significant presence of government in the school since government took over.
"The state of our school bothers me a great deal. So I call on the governor to come in and assist the school. We feel we should have government presence in this school".
Edet said the situation of the school has prompted youths from the host community to initiate a meeting with indigenes to secure help for the school at this very trying times.
Youths from the two communities said they had reach out to their representatives in government, none has responded.
One of them said, he had sent photos of the state of decay in the school to their member in the House of Assembly, but he was told to write to SUBEB.
The two nearest schools to Comprehensive Secondary School, Ikot Akpaetok/Ediam are Brotherhood Secondary School, Ikot Ide Akpakpan; and Secondary Grammar School, Ikot Essien. Facilities in both were affected by the windstorm.
Three classroom blocks were blown off at Brotherhood Secondary School, Ikot Ide Akpakpan. One of the blocks was an intervention by PTA.
"When school resumes in May, there will be no place for the students to stay", principal of the school Mrs Comfort Ime Ekpo had said a day after the windstorm wreck.
"The local government council had written and attached photos showing the state of infrastructures in the three schools to the State government", Ibesikpo Asutan transition committee chairman, Ukana Udofia said.
State government response to emergency needs in the education sector has been slow.
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