Students of Community Secondary School, Okoragu in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State have called on the state government to urgently rehabilitate their school, describing the learning environment as hazardous and unsuitable for learning.
In a report shared on Facebook by Stanley Uhegbu, the Senior Prefect, Nwachukwu Favour, said the poor condition of the school has made effective learning nearly impossible.
“We are not happy because we cannot learn properly. When it rains, teachers can’t enter the class because the floor gets flooded. Even after the ceiling collapsed and injured a student, nothing has been done,” he said.
He appealed to the government to fix damaged roofs, replace broken classroom furniture and renovate the school hall.
The female Senior Prefect, Asonye Faith, also described the situation as unbearable.
“Anytime it rains, we don’t feel comfortable. Teachers can’t teach us under leaking roofs. We want the government to repair the ceilings and leaking places so we can learn properly,” she added.
Many students say they attend classes in fear, uncertain when the next portion of the building might collapse.
That fear deepened two weeks after the roof of one of the school buildings collapsed on 14-year-old Fabian Chinda. Since the October 4 incident, Fabian says he no longer feels safe returning to class.
During a visit to the school, Nigeria Info FM observed that all the classrooms and staff offices in the Senior Secondary section were in deplorable shape. The buildings have no windows or doors, and several sections of the roof have caved in, forcing students to learn under partially exposed structures.
Fabian told the station that the incident occurred on a rainy day. The teacher had stepped out because the rainwater was blowing into the class, prompting students to huddle in relatively dry corners. Moments later, the ceiling collapsed on him.
He said the experience left him traumatised. “Sometimes I stay outside because of the fear that the roof might collapse again,” he said.
Beyond Etche, residents have also highlighted similar cases of abandoned educational facilities in Khana Local Government Area.
Photos circulating on social media reveal deteriorating primary and secondary school buildings in Sii, Lumene and Beeri communities, sparking renewed calls for government intervention to address widespread infrastructural decay in rural schools across the state.
