The Obior community in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State has lamented dilapidated structures and a lack of teachers at the Ezechima Grammar School, Obior.
When the school was visited, it was observed that dilapidated structures dotted the landscape, especially the senior secondary blocks and examination hall among others.
It was observed that some of the students were sitting on broken wood on the floor during teaching due to the inadequate chairs and tables.
One of the indigene of the community, Mr Ezieshi Okonkwo, said that government officials have been coming over the years to take pictures of the dilapidated structures, but never come back for repair or renovation.
He said, “You can see the classrooms, especially the senior secondary blocks have already dilapidated. During raining season you cannot differentiate between the outside and inside the classroom.
“Rain will be beating students inside the classroom. There are no single windows in all these classrooms in this era of insecurity in the land, even as bushes surrounded the school.
“The school is also lacking teachers, leading to a situation where the community hired five teachers and we are paying them to enable our children to learn.
“Yet, it is not enough, I can tell you that we have only one English teacher for JSS 1 to SS3, can you imagine it! See students sitting on the floor to learn because of inadequate chairs.
“What will it take the government to supply chairs and tables to schools? Some of the wood chairs were long supplied and most of them had broken, even at a point, the school in collaboration with the community, brought a carpenter to repair the repairable.
“The government is aware of these issues in the school and they are playing deaf despite the education budget every year. What are they doing with the money every year if they could not supply chairs and tables, and renovate classrooms?”
Okonkwo called on Governor Sherrif Oborevwori to as a matter of urgency intervene, noting that that is the only secondary school in the home town of former deputy governor, Benjamin Elue.
It was also gathered that virtually all the schools in the state lack teachers as a great number of them have retired long ago without the government filling the gap.
One of the casual teachers in Okwe Primary School, Asaba, simply identified as Mrs Nduku, said that she is being paid N20,000 a month by the school management.
She said, “I went there as an N-Power teacher, after the expiration of the N-Power, because of no job and the passion, I remained in the school to assist them because they don’t have teachers.
“We are two in the school, before the school could pay us the N20,000, it takes time, sometimes they owe us more than two months’ salary at a time.”
