Precisely, on Friday, March 8, 2019, two days to her birthday, a primary three pupil, little seven-year-old Success Adegor, whose video went viral on the social media of how she was driven from her school, Okotie Eboh Primary School I, Sapele local government area of Delta state by her head teacher, over non payment of certain fees allegedly imposed on pupils and students by the Ifeanyi Okowa led PDP government in the state, has exposed what Deltans described as the “gross neglect and decay in education system in the state.”
As soon as little Success’ video went viral on the social media, HardReporters correspondent visited the Okotie Eboh Primary School I, on a fact finding mission, where it was discovered that pupils of the school, learn under a life threatening dilapidated structure neglected and abandoned by the governor Okowa administration despite the collection of series of fees imposed on the pupils by government.
One of the visibly aggrieved school teachers who spoke to our correspondent over the development, under the condition of anonymity for fear of been victimised by government, confided that “The much talked about free education by the Okowa led administration is nothing but a fluke. Move round schools across the state you will be shocked how unnecessary fees are imposed on pupils and students by the state government and yet the same government does not bother in providing a conducive environment for learning.
“Okotie Eboh Primary School I is just one of the among many schools neglected and abandoned by the Okowa government. We never experienced the kind of decaying and gross neglect of our education system in the state when the immediate past governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan was in office. Okowa, only came to kill the education system in the state while he wastes tax payers money, running into several millions of naira on his so many uneducated political thugs, touts and criminals appointed as Special Assistants and Personal Assistants without offices and schedules.”
Reacting to the decay and neglect of the educational system in the state and the dilapidation of the school at Sapele, a former principal officers of the Delta state house of Assembly who does not want his name mentioned, lamented what he called the “Crude way and manner governor Ifeanyi Okowa is running the affair of education system in the state. There’s no single person in Delta State that would say he or she didn’t benefit directly or indirectly former governor Emmanuel Uduaghan’s programmes.
“Dr. Uduaghan aimed directly at the people with his policies and programmes. Was it Transport scheme? Was it healthcare? Was it free Education? How about the Edumarshal he set up that encouraged students to go to school? Some Deltans got their JSSCE and WAEC without spending a dime for enrolment. And I remember when the management of DELSU wanted to increase school fees, Dr. Uduaghan waded in and subsidised it thereby eliminating increase of school fees. Move around our schools today, you will see the level of decay and neglect by this Okowa government.
Also reacting, a Mass Communication lecturer at the Delta state university, Abraka, condemned what he described as “Okowa deliberate neglect and abandonment of both basic and secondary education system in the state including our tertiary institutions. There’s something Dr. Okowa fails to understand. He fails to understand that continuity is the mother of development. That’s why anything that has to do with Dr. Uduaghan, he brings down. He sold what Dr. Uduaghan put in billions of naira for a paltry sum of N161 million.
“Edumarshal that helps in the education sector, was scrapped, free education dead and buried. DESPPADEC, it’s completely dead and rotten. In fact, anything that has to do with Dr. Uduaghan is being brought down by Dr. Okowa. Our schools are in sorry state of decay and dilapidation. Just to siphon money, Okowa awarded a N13 billion State Secretariat complex to his elder sister and as I talk to you, his sister, SSG, Ovie Agas and other government officials have turned the office of EFCC to their personal houses over allegations of corruption concerning the contract.”
Perceiving that little Success verbal anger in the viral video which was recorded by one Stephanie Idolor, a 23-year-old applicant and graduate of Public Administration from the Auchi Polytechnic, will attract unsolicited embarrassment, condemnation and expose inability of the local and state governments to take seriously the boosting of the educational system in the area, the Sapele council chairman, Eugene Inoaghan, hurriedly located the family of Success, where he made some cash donations followed by other face saving promises.
As if that was not enough, another face saving tactics surfaced, this time around, from the state commissioner for basic and secondary education, Chinedu Ebie, who slammed the head teacher of the Okotie Eboh Primary school 1, Mrs. Vero Igbigwe, with an indefinite suspension, with an allegation of collecting unauthorised fees from schoolchildren and the commissioner’s actiin has generated series of condemnation from the general public, describing it as wicked and inhuman after failing on their duty to provide conducive learning environments for education to strive in the state.
“Rather than suspending the innocent head teacher who has no subventions to run the school, governor Ifeanyi Okowa should as a matter of urgent public interest fire the incompetent and corrupt basic and secondary education commissioner, Ebie, for not living up to his responsibilities as a commissioner. Former governor Emmanuel Uduaghan remain the best as far as growth and development of education system in the state.
“The late Okotie Eboh who founded this school in around 1960 must be very angry with its sorry state now from wherever he’s seeing it. The zinc in the open roofs portions are being blown off from time to time. There was a day a section of the roof collapsed on the top floor during school hours. It was a miracle that no pupil in the class got hurt. The place has been a mess and still deteriorating, but the Okowa government does not bother.” another teacher in school said.
In another face saving tactics to manage the mess and the series of embarrassments caused the state government over the Success’ viral video which exposed the decay and neglect of school structures in the area and the state in particular, Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Charles Aniagwu had said in a statement in Asaba claimed that the school in particular is not owned by the state government, claiming that public schools in the State are completely free from any form of unapproved government levies.
“Our attention has been drawn to a virile video online of a little girl purportedly from Delta State where she alleged that she was driven from school because her parents were unable to pay her school fees. We have also watched the video and read several comments on the matter where mischief makers tried to put culpability on the State Government.
“While we empathise with the little girl and her parents over her ordeal, it is important to state that Delta State Government runs free education at both primary and secondary school levels in all public schools in the state and therefore it is impossible to assume that the little girl was sent home from a public school in Delta State.”
Speaking in confidence with our correspondent, an impeccable government house source revealed Governor Ifeanyi Okowa was embarrassed over the development which he said has generated the serious apprehension at the headquarters of SUBEB and ministry of basic and secondary education over claims that several public schools under the watch of the government top officials have been embroiled in scandal of school levies and bribery for indiscriminate posting of teachers across the state.
In another development against the backdrop of the lingering Success’ viral video, the state government through the basic and secondary education commissioner, Chiedu Ebie, last week announced the immediate suspension of the payment of enrollment fees for candidates sitting for the Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE) in the state as sponsored by the administration of former governor Uduaghan.
Ebie disclosed during a press briefing in Asaba that the state government was wasting public funds running into millions of naira on the annual payment of colossal amount of money as enrollment fees for SSCE candidates sitting for both the West African Examination Council (WAEC) and National Examination Council (NECO).
Meanwhile, investigation by our correspondent revealed that the state basic and secondary education commissioner had lied while making the general public to believe that suspension of the enrollment fees for SSCE candidates sitting for both the West African Examination Council (WAEC) and National Examination Council (NECO) was carried out this month whereas the enrollment fees has been stopped by the Okowa led administration since 2016.
