How Govt College Doma Nasarawa Has Become A Sanctuary For Reptiles, And Rodents With Dilapidated Structures (See Photos Inside)
Rabiu Omaku
Angered over the sorry state of structures in the famous Government Teachers College Doma in Nasarawa state, the Doma Old Students Association Doma (DOCOSA) in a concerted effort to tackle the rot that has bedeviled the College has adopted steps to revive the comatose Government College Doma from the pangs of collapsing as they association has expressed in a communique it issued after its meeting calling on the State Governor Engineer Abdullahi Sule to as matter of urgency provide fence to the College which has been taken over by surrounding properties owners.
The President of the Association in his remark expressed concern over the sorry condition of the Government Science Teachers College, Doma said the measure reached was to tackle the college from the pangs of collapsed structures.
The maiden meeting which was held on the 9th December 2023, to be precise on Saturday was a huge success despite the poor attendance, The story of the College is a tale of lamentation in all ramifications, that is Government College Doma which was a complete boarding school that is lacking a kitchen while the old structure of the new dormitory is contracted to an indigene of the Local Government Hon Mathew Akwe, a former Member of the then Plateau State House of Assembly.
Another bad story of Government College Doma is that the school is on the verge of collapsing, The three rows of nine classrooms, the last three classrooms are used as a staff room, the Laboratory and Library are now a haven for rodents, lizards, and reptiles, there is no single apparatus in the laboratory which is housing a slim and fine skeleton which was all the time used for practical has disappeared into oblivion.
Government College Doma which used to admit 1,180 students since its establishment has recorded the last admission of only 130 New admissions In 2023, according to the Old Student Association has called for remedial action to be taken to ensure that the school did not go down the drain, DOCOSA at the end of the maiden meeting and in a communique appealed to the State Governor, Engineer Abdullahi Sule to go back to the status quo by renaming it Government Teacher’s College.
The interim Chairman lamented over the way and manner all sorts of teachers were recruited to address staff deficit in the State, Saying the right thing needs to be done before the teaching profession is thrown to the dogs.
Students after 34,26 and 10 years and below are doubting whether is the same alma mater they left, while others keep on imagining what happened to Government College Doma, as one of the officials in his remark says the only thing that is new in the permanent site is the boys’ and girls’ hostels.
He says even with all the tricking from the old site which is the timber shed and Graveside hostel (hostel A and B) The situation is far better than the present condition of the College which is porous as motorcycle owners turn the school compound to their routes.
Despite the insecurity around the location of the College, No single guard was seen within the school premises, An insider said the absence of security makes the College to be porous as they have a field day vandalizing the solar panel supply to power desktop computers.
A cursory look at the roof and the ceiling is a signal that all is wrong as the roof of the school has been devoured by termites while the entire environment was pelted with the strange odor of bat feces.
A former student who is also a member of the Old Students Association lamented the quality of teachers teaching in the College, this foisted the Association to call for the immediate rename of the College to Teachers College Doma, saying the scrapping of Teachers College has done more harm than good to the system.
“During our days in this school we have teachers from Ghana and India teachers, but today during recruitment, they will pick all sorts of people without teaching backgrounds as teachers, attributing the present situation as affecting the quality of students the school produces nowadays.
The Old Students Association also in her communique appealed to the State Government to set a parameter fencing of the schools to end encroachment of the school land as well as to safeguard the lives of students especially female students being the vulnerable ones, The statement was jointly signed by the President of the Association and the Secretary and made available to Journalists at the end of the maiden meeting.
The Association expressed shock over the rising wave of enchainment which will in a few years to come stagnate further development of the College as a boarding school, The students who are mostly from 1984 to 2023 sets decried the way and manner the entire school premises and road network are, making the entire atmosphere inhabitable for teaching and learning to take place.
Students who went around the school buildings wondered why the contract for the building of staff quarters and dining hall was taken over by reptiles and rodents, Only time shall tell.
The Old students expressed disappointment with the level of progress made by the State Government.
Other DOCOSA members say the only difference between the Old Teacher’s College, Government Science Teacher’s College, and now Government College was that students trek from far away hostels A, B, and C to the permanent site, Others said removing them from the graveside is the only difference.
Others are asking about the old bus provided during the time of the former Civilian administration in the defunct Plateau State Solomon Lar.
It is also a tale of rape attempts at the girl’s hostel due to its porosity and absence of security in the College which is another challenge for the Government College which is a boarding school and has no access to electricity.
The State Commissioner of Finance Budget and Planning Munirat Abdullahi during the 2024 budget breakdown averred that the sum of N700,000,000 million was budgeted for parameter fencing of public schools and buildings.
In a related development, the State Government has voted the sum of N3,650,978.94m for the construction of blocks of 3 classrooms in Karu Kokona, Awe Wamba, and Obi Local Government Areas respectively.
Another effort also includes the construction of schools, and hospitals in the communities at the sum of N350,000,000 million only.
The Commissioner of Education, Science, and Technology, Hon.John Mamman said the present administration of Engineer Abdullahi Sule accorded premise to the welfare, training, and retraining.
John Mamman reiterated that Sule, has taken bold steps towards the revival of the education sector with a renewed commitment by employing teachers at all levels of education.
