Delta community appeals to Okowa to fix dilapidated primary school
By Francis Efe – Warri
Indigenes of Odovie community in Ughelle North Local Government Area of Delta State have called on the Delta State Governor, Senator (Dr) Ifeanyi Okowa to come to their aid and save the only primary school in their community from collapsing.
The President General of the Community, Mr Francis Ako, said that the condition of the school is so bad that no pupil will like to go to the school, especially these raining season.
“For some time now all the roofs have been linking and if care is not taken, the building will collapse on the children.
“I have written several letters to DESOPADEC and the Primary School Education Board but all to no avail. None of them has responded so far,” Ako said.
Also, the youth leader of the community, Mr Sam Panama, lamented that the Odovie Primary School which was built about forty years ago has never been renovated.
He said if nothing urgent is done to renovate the school, their children will suffer untold hardship when schools finally resume.
According to Panama, “this primary school happens to be one of the best model foundation school in the State.
“But here we are today, it has lost its potential background. This primary school is over 40 years now, and it has never been renovated for once since it was built.”
“We are appealing to the local government, state government and the general public to come to the aid of our children and put in place a conducive learning environment for our children.
“This school has produced a lot of great men and women across the state,” Panama added.
He lamented that the school lacks basic learning facilities like chairs and tables, adding that the staff room is a shadow of its old self.
“This great foundation school today does not have any equipment nor facilities. There are no chairs for staff and students to sit on when teaching is going on. the only staff room looks like a pool house. One cannot sit comfortably in the staff room,” Ovie said.
Though schools are not in session because of the COVID-19 pandemic, some of the pupils who spoke to our correspondent in the community appealed to the local and state governments to come to their aid and save the only primary school they have from going into extinction.
A primary five pupil in the school who gave her name as Rita Monday, while speaking to our correspondent, said, “Most times we don’t feel like going to school because of the situation of the school. We are neither focused nor are we comfortable when lessons are going on.
“I want to call on all well-meaning individuals in the community and all Deltans to come to our rescue so that we can have a better future just like our peers in other parts of the state.”
As at the time of filing this report all efforts to reach the State Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Patrick Ukah, for comment, failed, as he did not respond to calls and text messages put across to him.