By Edidiong Udobia /Ubong Sampson

On one fateful day last year, like every other school day, some students, teachers and other staffers of the Community Secondary Commercial School, Ikot Oku Ikono, Uyo, were still arriving the school compound in the morning while others had already settled in as academic activities had began in earnest. The small clusters of apprehensive people around the school premises gave an indication that something unusual was happening somewhere in the community. But teachers did not give much thought to it since whatever was happening had nothing to do with the school. After all, the atmosphere within the school compound was calm.

But in a twinkle of an eye, the school was thrown into chaos, and it was the ripple effect of a crisis in the community. The school sits in the heart of the community so it became a thoroughfare for some irate youths who were at the centre of the crisis as they ran helter skelter from one end of the community to the other. It took the intervention of the Nigerian Police to restore peace in the community and by extension, the school. That incident disrupted academic activities in the school for hours.

Every day a parent waves his or her child goodbye and watch him or her leave for school, it is with the assurance that the child will be back home in few hours hale and hearty. Even though parents are not unaware of the fact that something could go wrong, somehow, they have the assurance that school is a fortress. In the last six years, Governor Udom Emmanuel has worked tirelessly to keep these assurances alive through solution-based polices and programmes in the education sector.

The governor's all round approach to developing the education sector has ensured that children in the state public schools are not only academically fortified, but also that the schools are indeed a fortress. On December 30, 2020, the governor, during a State Executive Council meeting, gave approval for construction of perimeter fence in public schools across the state. "With the approval by the governor, a pilot copy of the perimeter fence was constructed at St. Peter's School, Mbiaobong, here in Uyo", revealed the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Youth Matters, Mr. Aniefiok Iwaudofia.

A project with multidimensional benefits
According to Mr. Iwaudofia, the essence of the pilot copy was to provide a template that would be replicated in all the schools where the construction will be undertaken. From its design to the quality, the perimeter fence is constructed in a unique way that it provides both beauty and security to the school. An on the spot assessment of the finished perimeter fence at St. Peter's RCM School, Mbiaobong Anyanya Etoi, Uyo Local Government Area, revealed that the benefit of the project is multidimensional.

Against the backdrop of the rising insecurity with attendant abduction of school children in some parts of the country, Governor Emmanuel embarked on the school fencing project as a proactive approach to safeguard our children during school hours. The governor prioritizes safety and security of Akwa Ibom people including our children so the most important reason for the project is to ensure that the schools are safe and well-protected" Iwaudofia noted. "When the school is properly fenced, it is easier for the teachers to keep their eyes on the children and also monitor the movements into the school compound".

At the moment, the project which is only the first tranche, is capturing schools based on urgency. For instance, in Uyo, the project is kickstarting with schools within the metropolis, like Etoi Secondary School; Etoi Primary School; Offot Central Primary School; Government Primary School, Afaha Offot, and many others. Clearly, by their location, these are the most vulnerable schools in the state capital. From the popular Ibom Plaza, whether it's a drive through Oron Road or Nwaniba Road, Ikot Ekpene Road, Abak Road, or Aka Road, one would hardly fail to notice that perimeter fences are rising around many schools.

Truancy, rioting and loitering on the streets during school hours by students are the other major vices that the perimeter fencing will help tackle. A female school administrator who pleaded anonymity, confirmed that it is impossible to restrain the students from loitering outside the school compound, engaging in riots or other forms of vices during school hours if the school is not properly fenced round. "When every corner of the school is an access point, you cannot effectively keep the students within the school compound", she said. "If you stop them from using the bush track behind your office, they go back and use the one behind their class".

In addition, Iwaudofia noted that the governor was also worried by the rising cases of students being knocked down by moving vehicles on the highways. "Another reason the project is starting with schools located along the highways is to prevent the students from exposing themselves to accidents", he revealed. "If students are on the road in large numbers after school hours, it is much easier to control the traffic for them", he added. He opines that the risk of a moving vehicle knocking a student down is higher when they roam on major roads during school hours.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) through its school support programme, Digital Awareness Programme (DAP), built and properly equipped a computer laboratory with over 20 desktop computers and complete accessories in one of the public secondary schools in Uyo. That gesture which complemented Governor Udom Emmanuel's ICT drive in the education sector, enabled students of the school to have a good foundation in practical ICT learning. Sadly, in one night, unidentified people broke into the laboratory and carted away all the computers, all the air conditioners installed in the room, and apparently angered by their inability to uproot the 25 kVA lister generator also provided to the school, severely damaged the generator. More than a whole academic year has gone by since that incident and the students of the school have not had a practical computer lesson.

Vandalism and theft have been major factors militating against government's interventions in public schools and these have been very common in schools without proper fencing. Despite these ugly incidents, Governor Udom Emmanuel is still determined to change the education fortunes of the state. For instance, it is reliably gathered that the ongoing fencing project will be shortly followed by massive provision of facilities like laboratories, sports equipment, etc. Hopefully, the governor's decision to secure the schools before reinvesting in the facilities will translate to a substantial solution towards achieving a truly efficient and effective education in the state.