In Delta State, there are schools without classroom teachers and pupils sit on the bare floor to learn.
The communities have adopted various measures to raise money to pay for the services of external teachers but poor remunerations have forced the teachers to leave and at present there are no enough teachers in the affected schools.
Among the schools facing the dearth of teachers and poor learning environment are Oformor Primary School, Okparabe Secondary School and Otovwodo Grammar School, all located in Ughelli South local government area of the state
At separate press conferences, the community leaders, who included the traditional ruler of Okparabe Kingdom, His Royal Majesty (HRM) Andrew Oghenevwodo, Osakpa 111, Ovie of Okparabe Kingdom and its president-general, Evang David Brighodemor, cried to both the state government and local government area to rescue the communities.
“Since two years ago, there have been no enough teachers in both primary and secondary schools to teach the pupils and students in Oformor Primary School and Okparabe Secondary School.
“The Okparabe community has tried their various ways to pay for the services of external teachers but because of poor remuneration, the external teachers left and now there are not enough teachers to teach the pupils and students.
“Okparabe Town Health Centre/Maternity is also facing the same challenge of lack of healthcare officers and other basic needs,” the monarch said.
Also, the president-general of the kingdom, Evang David Brighodemor, said Okparabe Kingdom needs social amenities and in pains, appealing to the federal and Delta State governments to come to their aid.
He emphasised that primary and secondary school students in Okparabe town lack classrooms and furniture, stressing that the pupils and students sit on the floor during their classes.
In a similar development, president of Otovwodo Community, Engr. Ovigue Solomon Ugbarugba, also lamented the shortage of teachers.
He highlighted the community’s contributions to the development of the area, citing a recent intervention at the Otovwodo Grammar School where they spent over ₦3.5 million this year alone.
“The principal of Otovwodo Grammar School wrote to the community about the shortage of teachers. In response, the community employed four graduate teachers: two English language teachers, one Christian Religious Study (CRS) teacher and one Geography teacher. We’ve been paying them from February last year to date, spending over ₦3.5 million,” he said.
They have cried out to the Delta State Governor, Hon Sheriff Oborevwori and Ughelli South council chairman, Hon Lucky Avwerome, to provide classroom teachers for both primary and secondary schools in Okparabe town.
Also, students of Enekorogha Grammar School, Burutu local government area of Delta, established in the early 1980s, sit on the bare floor to attend classes and write examinations.
According to Mr. Peter Ganagana, the chairman of the Community’s Education Committee, the state government has not constructed any buildings in the school. The only six-classroom block was erected by an individual, while other facilities were built solely by the community.
“While teachers lack basic necessities such as offices, chairs, and tables. Currently, the school has only a few classroom blocks and lacks essential items such as furniture, roofs, windows, doors, chairs, proper chalkboards, and a suitable staff room.
Ganagana further revealed that out of a student population exceeding 350, 80 per cent do not have adequate seats or desks for learning.
“The few seats we have in the school were provided by the community and the ones donated by an old student of the school who visited some time ago. He generously donated 50 desks to the school, and these are the only seats in the school and it is not enough.
“It is pitiable that our children sit on the bare floor to learn daily, and even as they write this second term exam, beginning from JSS 1 to SS3, there is no desk for them to write.
“The school has just six teachers and the principal made it seven government teachers, and as you know, this is not enough to take all the subjects, so the community has to engage volunteer teachers that are given stipends monthly,” he said.
Ganagana said frustrated by the unsatisfactory conditions affecting both the students and their learning environment, the community wrote to the Post-Primary Education Board and the Ministry of Education.
According to him, this prompted the board and ministry to send a delegation to the school to observe the situation firsthand.
He expressed disappointment that none of the commitments made to address the dreadful state of the school had been honoured.
Meanwhile, the executive chairman, Delta State Universal Basic Education Board (D-SUBEB), Hon. Samuel Mariere, when contacted by LEADERSHIP Friday , said the board was investing in classrooms, teacher capacity, digital tools, and safety facilities to ensure that every Delta child has access to quality education.
“On teachers training, 5,511 teachers trained under 10 professional development programmes, boosting lesson planning, classroom management and digital literacy,” he stated.
Also, the commissioner for Works (Rural Roads) and Public Information, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, said the MORE Agenda is being implemented in a manner that impacts every part of the state, ensuring that all 25 local government areas, the 10 federal constituencies and the three senatorial districts benefit from government projects.
Aniagwu reaffirmed that Governor Sheriff Oborevwori’s administration remains committed to fairness, equity and balanced development across the state.
