Concern As Akwa Ibom Schools Operate In Poultry Farms, Shanties

Akwa Ibom, 1 of the highest oil-producing states successful South-South Nigeria, by virtuousness of the quantum of lipid currency rolling successful from the centre monthly, should pridefulness itself arsenic the centre of excellence successful quality superior improvement and gathering of ace infrastructure.

But connected paper, truthful it seems arsenic portrayed by the governor, Pastor Umo Eno, who is won’t to wax governmental rhetoric astatine each fora that “the national authorities led by President Bola Tinubu, has pumped truthful overmuch petro-dollars to states for subnational development,” but the reality, LEADERSHIP checks revealed, points to antithetical verbose for cheerleaders to clap for cash.

Worst affected is the acquisition assemblage wherever millions of naira are voted yearly arsenic budgetary currency to money education, yet the alleged escaped acquisition argumentation inherited from successive administrations from 2008, nether the politician Godswill Akpabio, remains a mirage.

It was gathered that during the era, monthly subventions were fixed to principals and schoolhouse heads, for meals and different moving costs to marque the escaped acquisition argumentation functional and charismatic to pupils, to discourage out-of-school children and enhanced enrolment figures crossed the 31 section authorities areas.

But feelers from principals and caput teachers revealed an unpalatable schoolhouse environment, fraught with exploitation, wide vandalism of acquisition infrastructure, and amerciable schoolhouse charges, forcing withdrawal of pupils by distraught parents to clasp autarkic and backstage schools’ systems.

The governor, successful evident determination to equilibrium the dichotomy betwixt nationalist and backstage schools, it was learnt, had built and commissioned exemplary schools – ARISE Model Primary/Secondary Schools crossed the 10 national constituencies, but checks revealed that the radiation of affirmative impacts could not beryllium felt due to the fact that nationalist schools crossed the 31 LGAs are inactive bereft of basal infrastructures with pupil/teacher ratios inactive alarming.

It was gathered that the precocious charges by managers of the nationalist superior and secondary schools person combined with different crisp practices to decision the essence of the escaped and compulsory acquisition astatine the basal level, forcing the sick – spend parents to clasp shabby and shanty backstage schools dotting the 31 LGAs, and the suburban communities peripheral to the capital, Uyo.

However, the proliferation of specified makeshift schools, according to Chief Udosen Inyang, a assemblage person successful Etinan LGA, “have go an eyesore, a large disgrace and highly disappointing script particularly successful an lipid State that prides itself arsenic 1 of the champion aesthetically alluring environment.”

“I person a batch of specified makeshift schools astir my domain, immoderate are similar shrines, but immoderate parents due to the fact that of hardship and debased mentality inactive instrumentality their children and wards there,” helium noted

He besides blamed the locations of nationalist schools successful distant places, recalling that the information pupils successful section communities went done traversing respective communities successful bid to entree nationalist schools successful the hinterlands has go frightening, lamenting that portion immoderate went missing, others drowned trying to transverse a rickety span to school.

The astir tearful, it was gathered, were basal schools successful immoderate riverine communities of Eastern Obolo, Oron, Mbo, Uruan, Esit Eket, Itu, Okobo LGAs, wherever the fishermen lamented that entree to accepted schools by pupils remains a regular nightmare.

“Pupils locomotion respective kilometres to and from schools crossing the rivers with attendant dangers of being attacked, kidnapped oregon drowned,” Bassey Ating, section fisherman told our Correspondent astatine Ibaka beach, Mbo LGA.

For Instance, it could beryllium recalled that a stagnant excavation converted to dam for cultivation purposes, attracted to Ayadehe, a section assemblage successful Itu LGA by a salient person from the Itu/Ibiono Ibom national constituency, had consumed mates of pupils trying to entree schoolhouse successful the adjacent villages cut-off by the water.

Worried by antagonistic images of specified acquisition structures successful a expected lipid authorities that ranks amongst the apical 3 successful crude lipid output and gross from the federation account, the commissioner for education, Prof. Ubong Umoh, has launched a monolithic clampdown.

Leading the acquisition task unit squad to galore of specified exigency classes operated successful churches connected week days and the mean religion activities connected weekends, the commissioner frowned astatine immoderate startling discoveries that the alleged schools person been operating for years, defrauding parents, but without the Authority To Operate (ATO) licence, and consequently sealed them off.

Abandoned filling stations, poultry farms, shops, concern containers and different unedified platforms were discovered to person been converted into makeshift schools.

“The ministry vehemently disapproved of the unsafe facilities and un...