Despite promises by the Enugu state Government and its council areas that it will prioritize education in the state, DailyPost investigation has shown that the state of primary education in many parts of the state could still be described as “shameful and embarrassing”.

Our correspondent who went round the state observed that primary schools in Igbo-Etiti and Udenu council areas are among the schools neglected by the state government.

Ironically, Igbo-Etiti prides itself as the Local Government area that has produced the highest number of professors in the South-East geopolitical zone.

With over sixty professors from the council, and its immediate past local government chairman clinching the most prestigious ALGON best local government chairman award, nobody would have believed that thousands of its primary school pupils still receive their class lessons sitting on bare floors in dilapidated buildings.

To say the least, teachers also sit on their motorbikes to write lesson notes.

When DailyPost visited the Union Primary School, Akaibite , Ohebe Dim, a teacher who spoke under anonymity for fear of victimization explained that the school has been forgotten by both the state and the local government.

“In fact, this school has been forgotten by the government. There is no help whatsoever coming from the government. During rainy season, teachers and pupils are always in trouble because the roof of this building is leaking. Also in the dry season, heat is always too much here.

“Many pupils don’t attend school during rainy season for fear of the building collapsing. Painfully, this school is supposed to be the center for the Common Entrance Examination this year. But, we were denied this because we don’t have seats talk more of other facilities for the comfort of both the candidates and examiners”, he lamented.

“We have made several appeals to the government but nothing is coming our way. The parents have done the best they can all these years. So right now, we are surviving by the mercy of God, but my concern is for the pupils, because I wonder how they would compete with their counterparts in other parts of the country”, he added.

One of the pupils in primary four who said they were not happy studying on bare floor, told DailyPost that he would like to be a computer scientist.

Asked why he would like to study the course, he explained “I will invent a machine that will be able to detect when one is telling lies or not because the government people tell lies a lot. I’m not happy that our school does not have seats and tables for both the teachers and pupils.

“We are begging government to help us provide all these and even renovate our school building. Many of us sit on the floor during lessons while our teachers sit outside on their motorbike to mark our class work”

For the Chairman of the Parents’ Teachers Association chairman of the school Mr. Robert Ezike, the community’s effort had already been over stretched.

He explained that the school was built through community effort, pointing out that there was no basic facility being provided by both the local and state governments since the school started more than three decades ago.

He said: “This school was built evenhandedly by the poor community dwellers. We have cried to the government to help us at least renovate the building, all to no avail. If nothing is done to ensure the renovation of this building this year, it may collapse.


“As you can see, pupils here don’t have any seat. Teachers don’t have tables and seats. Parents here are very poor and have tasked themselves so much to run this school”.

At the Central Primary school, Ozalla, the situation seems worse. But for the presence of the pupils outside the school building, a visitor to the school will mistake the building for an oversize cave. The building that houses the over 200 pupils of the school is one pre-colonial dilapidated structure playing host to holes in their large numbers.

One of the teachers stated that they had been trying to get the attention of the government towards the completion of an abandoned school block in the school compound to no avail.

“You can see that uncompleted classroom block. It would have reduced our problems. When the headmaster was posted here in 2010, he made all efforts to see that this building was completed.

“He even got the phone number of the contractor but when he called the contractor, he said that government had not paid up the agreed contract amount to enable him finish the building.

“Another problem is that we don’t have enough seats, tables and public convenience. You can see for yourself that our pupils sit on bare floor while many sit on logs”.

He also disclosed that apart from some text books supplied by the state government this year and last year, no other help had ever come the way of the school.

“When we got to Enugu last time, they told us that they don’t have even chalk to give us. We use our money to buy chalk here. We need the help of the government here”, he pleaded.

At Egbu Primary School Amalla Orba in Udenu Council Area of the State, it was another pitiable sight.

Lamenting over the situation, one of the teachers said: “our school is in total collapse. We don’t receive any help from both the local and state government. There is no incentive whatsoever from the government. We use our money to buy chalks and other teaching materials. The headmaster provides chalk, provides seats for the pupils. Most of the pupils sit on dusty ground to receive lessons”.

More disturbing is the teacher’s ratio in the school with the over 200 hundred pupils receiving lessons from only 11 teachers.

In many other schools visited in the area, it was the same tale of woes. At Amukwu Primary School, two school blocks have already collapsed, leaving the pupils to squeeze themselves in a dilapidated block.

http://dailypost.com.ng/2013/02/25/photospeak-pupils-in-enugu-study-on-bare-floor-leaking-roof/?utm_source=&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=photospeak-pupils-in-enugu-study-on-bare-floor-leaking-roof

This is too sad. Though Chime seems to be a performer. He can do more anyway.

seanet01: This is too sad. Though Chime seems to be a performer. He can do more anyway.

I said it before and I reiterate that Governor Chime has performed very well in the area of roads and street lights but in the area of education and health, I score the governor ZERO.

VERY SAD

in this 2013? wtf are they sitting on ant hill in the second picture?

cold world.
get rich or shiver to death.

[size=18pt]Seriously, do you think we have a government in this state?
And the people must be id-io-ts to accept this injustice after paying tax![/size]

:p it is well

wow


Wait till I bring you pictures from schools in Imo State... Save your tears.

Schools like this one are in their hundreds of thousands around Nigeria and this is why the 'standard of education' in Nigeria and Africa besides South Africa are not respected by the 'Whites'! What a big shame on the part of our so-called leaders

Pls you all should vote for GEJ for 2015, I promise you that this will nt happen again, the schs will be tiles and there will be AC in all the classes..........OMG. I just remember that was he said when he was entering into power after Yaradua died

Errrr....every state in Nigeria?

What are their community leaders doing to improve those schools?
Or gone are the days when communities built and rehabiltate their village schools?

And dis is news? D news shoud be if they are learning in a well built nd equiped classrooms. I guess u haven't visited even secondary schools in some states recently.

Wtf....u cn neva find dis in Akwa ibom!

To say the truth, am a youth copper in enugu state and in udi local govt area. The head mistress of my school lacks the understanding of basic english language, lets not talk about the students now and the schools especially in the villages are a poor site

What do you expect from a state where the State governor travelled abroad for almost 5 five months only to come back to say he owed nobody apology for his absence ?

This is a big calamity.

Orikinla: [size=18pt]Seriously, do you think we have a government in this state?
And the people must be id-io-ts to accept this injustice after paying tax![/size]

We need a strong hand 2 run dis corrupt system of govt.

Well, am bent on 2 pick Buhari....he sure will know how to deal with des ID-IO-TS dat say dey run demo-CRAZY in dis our Obodo Nigeria. After so much said and promised, Jonathan still went ahead to spend $1m for Jay Z & Beyonce's visit abi na dem be d poverty alleviation programme wey the money dey 4 nii?

AM NOT SURPRISED AT ALL. THIS IS EVEN BETTER!! ITS SAME WITH PUBLIC SCHOOLS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY. MAY GOD HELP US.

This calls for celebration,the governor can now attach this as his achievement in creating an "eco-friendly" environment for the pupils.But what are the works of local government chairmen in Nigeria? We hav been blaming governors a lot, maybe lg chairmen are those pocketing some funds that should be used to develop community schools o

Hehehe odikwa very risky! Short of words

Orikinla: [size=18pt]Seriously, do you think we have a government in this state?
And the people must be id-io-ts to accept this injustice after paying tax![/size]

How many Nigerians actually pay tax?

The state of basic amenities in ALL OF NIGERIA is rubbish, but governors such as Chime think they can deceive the masses with beautification and so-called FDI in the form shoprite.

Banana republic. A big shame.....Nigeria has yet to to be led by a real and sincere hero. All her leaders are concerned with showy and superficial achievements to solicit stooopid praise while foundational issues are left to rot.

No incentive for indigenous industrialization.
No world class educational institutions to graduate the best brains in any field
No law and order
No constant electricity
No healthcare
No welfare for the old, disabled, abused and abandoned
No police
No infrastructure for mass transportation
No religious or ethnic tolerance. Killing, killing, quarreling, killing
NOTHING!!!!!!!!

Who frigging cares about some street flowers and shopping malls??

Bash Me:

We need a strong hand 2 run dis corrupt system of govt.

Well, am bent on 2 pick Buhari....he sure will know how to deal with des ID-IO-TS dat say dey run demo-CRAZY in dis our Obodo Nigeria. After so much said and promised, Jonathan still went ahead to spend $1m for Jay Z & Beyonce's visit abi na dem be d poverty alleviation programme wey the money dey 4 nii?

Buhari will not solve Nigeria's prob. Let's vote for people from unknown parties, I mean new guys with sound academic qualifications. Buhari was and is still part of our prob.

.

Do you guys want to try Abia State?

Thank you NL 4 bringing dis up.......pls spread d gossip so as 2 facilate improvement.

If na Lagos state some bigot will cry foul about tax payer money as if its only them that pay tax. They spend their days lookin for how to bring Fashola down when they should be holdin their executives accountable.

This Is My LGA ooo... Bt I av'nt gone to those places in the post through out ma Life... What A Pity... My Area Is Not Bad in terms Of Education and schooling

Mad Cow: wow


Wait till I bring you pictures from schools in Imo State... Save your tears.

Your antics stopped being funny a long time ago, my brother

You're now an embarrassment