by crossriverwatch admin
For three years, the roofs of two-storey blocks meant to take twelve classrooms each at the Pin Margaret Secondary School in Calabar South have been abandoned by the contractor.
All he could do with the millions of Naira given to him was to erect the structures and place some wood on the roof which has been persistently battered by rain leaving it an eyesore.
Consequently, over one thousand of the two thousand students of the school study in makeshift structures erected around the collapsing perimeter fence leaving them at the mercy of putrid elements.
That picture reflects what the state of schools in Cross River State are particularly those in the urban centers which have over bloated population with as many as seventy students occupying a classroom meant for thirty pupils.
Seven students share a desk meant for three while in the rural areas, some primary schools are without desks with pupils making do with the bare floor as their seating item.
When CrossRiverWatch sought the views of some head teachers and principals in Calabar on the state of primary and secondary education in the state, the reporter was referred to the State Ministry of Education, “officials there have the permission to speak; they will tell you all you want to know”.
At the Ministry of Education, Professor Offiong Offiong, the Commissioner for Education in the State is full of praises for what he calls the “Cross River State Standard of Education”.
According to him, since the inception of Senator the Liyel Imoke’s administration in Cross River State in 2007, “the educational sector which was tottering at the precipice, near total collapse following prolonged periods of utter neglect and abandonment has been revived through consistent innovation and remodeling.
“Conscious of the critical role education plays as a catalyst for economic transformation and an instrument for socio -political advancement in any society, focus and emphasis was immediately placed on assumption of office towards repositioning the sector in the proper pedestal to produce the right results in spite of its sordid state.
“From the basic formative level which is the primary, through to the secondary stages up to the tertiary levels, comprehensive, rather than isolated transformation process was adopted through the institution of a three prong approach to rejuvenate this all important sector”.
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