Photos: The Untold Story Of The Dearth Of Infrastructures In Government Science Secondary School Lafia And Others

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Rabiu Omaku

Before now not many knows about, Government Science Secondary School Lafia, in Nasarawa State, but the events of  last week may have opened an eye into the secondary school, especially with the circumstances that led to death of a male student of the school.

However, the death of young Amos Ovye may have opened problems bedeviling science school as well as others.

For instance this medium learnt that, total blackout, dilapidated structures, shortage of manpower, acute shortage of water are some of the crisis facing Government Science Secondary School, Lafia, the school according to an insider is in dire need of government attention been a science school, one of the nagging obstacle of this school was the total blackout experienced in the school, this seriously portends danger to academic activities leading, a situation that led to the death of  young, Amos Ovye.

No amount of compensation by the state government would bring back Ovy

Another dilapidated part of the hostel

e, the only child of his parent, Ovye meet his untimely death when he sneaked out of the school at about 8:00pm to purchase torchlight battery but was crush to death by a driver suspected to be the son of Nasarawa state governor, Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, Kalil Al-Makura.

The outrage according to an insider who pleaded anonymity said students no longer attend night prep from 7:30-9:30pm, this also has contributed to the dwindling performance of students, feelers told this medium that the school only experience three hours of power supply in two weeks.

“Former member House of representative, Muhammed Ahmadu Al-Makura heralded the construction of ICT centre when he held sway as the member representing Obi/Lafia and the NCC centre but said that center has been abandoned for quite a long time, though they also donated a standby generator, but how to we fuel, is our problem”.

“We carried out some financial obligations that were before the introduction of free secondary and primary education, but presently we are battling to buy chalk and settle other miscellaneous in absence of anything coming from the government side, even as the principal of Government Science School has refused to speak to the press during the visit of the school.

An abandoned hostel

Insecurity is also a problem of Government Science Secondary School, Lafia extended to other schools in the state, sources from the school reeled out that the absence of security personnel in the school has led to the recent bizarre issue, as he said the few security personnel in the school are aged men who lack the strength to do their job as he described them as a window dressing to the system.

Another loophole is the decay of structures ranging from classroom blocks, hostels accommodation, other facilities visited are the obsolete library and laboratory been a science based school.

Acute shortage of water supply was also attributed to total blackout as our source said the school enjoys twenty four hours water when electricity supply is stable.

Also in another school in the State, shocking discovery unfolds that students of Govt. Girls’ College, Wamba has been without electricity for 4 years, this report may shock parents and Guardians alike in a Government boarding school.

The principal Rabi Yusuf, in her speech at the National Convention of the school’s old students, held in Lafia said that the students had remained in the dark “since electricity was cut off four years ago, over unpaid bills”.

She described the situation as “very bad”, and appealed to the old students to assist the students by paying the outstanding electricity bill so that the school could be reconnected.

“It is difficult to explain how we have tried to cope without light; you will help a great deal by intervening in this area,” she said, as she also appealled to the state government to renovate the hostels, classrooms and laboratories to improve the learning environment.

She also urged government to post more teachers to teach chemistry and English, and regretted that the school had no teachers to handle the two subjects; she also called for more matrons and security men to attend to the girls and secure the school in view of current security challenges.

Available records have shown that the present free secondary and primary education is not feasible.

Though the state government deserved commendation for the fencing of vast public schools like Government Girls Science School Garaku, GSSS Lafia but more is needed to be done.

The state government also succeeded in the construction of toilets in many schools with the sole aimed of ending open defecation.

The state government should wake up from her slumber by joining words with action through the construction of more classrooms and provision of instructional facilities.

In the area of insecurity the state government should deploy the Nasarawa State Youth Empowerment Scheme (NAYES) to schools that are at high risk of attack as a stitch in time saves nine; this would be the only solution that would increase security of lives and properties in public schools.

The state government should provide or construct solar water supply as an alternative to boreholes which uses electricity as source of power to pump water to overhead tank.

The state government should provide transformers to schools with epileptic supply as inadequate transformers also constitute serious challenges to power supply.

The fencing of public schools by governor, Umaru Tanko Al-Makura deserves onward commendation and should be sustain with the rising spate of insurgency, kidnapping, raping and other forms of criminality.

The state government should focused on the renovation and expansion of existing schools instead of establishing more school without teachers, the state government should focus on how to complement the existing schools with teachers.

Rebuilding of schools destroyed during the last communal and ethnic conflict, also schools destroyed by thunderstorm, rainstorm and erosion should be put in shape.

Government should focus on the equipping of schools as well encourage science education by making it a state priority through awarding scholarship to science students at secondary and tertiary institutions.

Front-view of the hostel block

The state government should accord priority to annual school census as available information revealed that since 2012 no clear cut census was conducted in Nasarawa state instead heads of schools sits in their offices and approximate number of students per schools, this practice gave room to the present predicament of principals in the allocation of monthly upkeep of their various schools.

That the state government should not in any way politicized the education sector.

The state government should revert back to the free NECO registration; it should be extended to WAEC also

The state government should make effort to recruits more teachers especially teachers of core subjects.

The present administration should forgo the ongoing school feeding programme because is not a well-planned policy, government should beam her searchlight on issue based policies for the sake of generations yet unborn.

The Administrative office of Lafia Regional office of Electricity Distribution Company, Hajiya Zainab declined comment over the disconnection of Government Girls College Wamba from the national grid since four years ago, this has continued to cause untold hardship to students as well affect the academic performance of students.

Zainab directed universalreporters247.com to contact Akwanga district Manager of the electricity distribution company as she said Wamba is within Akwanga district.

The state commissioners of education, Ahmed Aliyu Tijjani and Information, Culture and Tourism, Abdulhamid Kwarra could not be reached as text messages and calls put across to them were not responded to as at press time.

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