Students, Parents Plea For Help As Rainstorm Destroys School

Following a rainstorm that damaged teaching and learning at St. George’s Anglican Primary School, Okeagbe, Akoko in Ondo State, parents, staff and pupils have called on the state government for rescue.

The rainstorm was recorded to have damaged almost all the facilities in the school.

Amidst this, the school administration has refused to be discouraged; making do with the available facilities to serve the needs of its 467 pupils.

Before the incident, there were five blocks of classrooms. The school had a functional IT laboratory with 30 computers and a library.

The roofs of the school’s five blocks, including the library and computer room; the computers, and hundreds of books were destroyed. The Head Teacher’s Office was partially affected as well as other buildings in the school’s host community.

 

However, the Head Teacher, Olukemi Bello, said the poor state of facilities did not deter the 467 pupils of the school from learning.

“The school is in a terrible state as I speak to you. The storm that occurred on Friday, March 12, has really affected the school and other facilities, including my office.

‘’However, pupils continue to come to school. They have not allowed that to discourage them. We now use the partially-destroyed classrooms for lessons, though they are not conducive,” she said.

She said the Local Government Chairman for Akoko Northwest, Hon. Ayo Akande, as well as officials of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) had visited the place to assess the damage and chart a way forward.

Parents, teachers, and pupils have been sending ‘Save Our Soul’ (SOS) messages to the Ondo State Government, well-meaning individuals and philanthropists for urgent help to reconstruct the school.

The Parents, Teachers Association (PTA) Chairman, Mr. Awe Samuel, expressed sadness on the porous nature of the school after the destruction.

“What happened to the school is disturbing and worrisome. The pupils are now exposed to danger. Classrooms and facilities which cost a lot have been destroyed. I urge the state government to save the future of our children. The school needs to be rebuilt,” he said.

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Funsho Abiodun, a Social Studies teacher, said: “The interest of the children is paramount to us. Government should assist us in rebuilding the school. Many of the structures were dilapidated. But the storm worsened everything. Our computers, UPS, and books have been destroyed. We want the government to erect new buildings for us. We know the Ondo State Government is committed to education.”

The National President of the National Congress of Akoko Students (NACAS), Comrade Lemuel Akinyele, while sympathising with the school, urged the state government to come to the aid of the school and save the future of the pupils.

In his reaction, the Local Government Chairman, Akoko Northwest, Ayo Akande, said he could not say how soon reconstruction would commence, citing lack of funds.

“I don’t know how soon the rebuilding will start because the local government does not have the needed funds to embark on the project. Nevertheless, we have contacted the State Universal Basic Education Board and officials in the Ministry of Education.

‘’We have also written letters to the governor and other relevant agencies and forwarded our report to them.”