Abia education stakeholders raise alarm over rising vandalism of public school facilities, citing risks to pupils.
Ohanaeze Youth Council visits schools with supplies, urging government action and promoting discipline among children.
Education stakeholders in Abia State have expressed deep concern over the growing vandalism of public school buildings, warning that the trend is undermining teaching, learning, and pupil safety.
The alarm was raised when the Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC), led by its president Eugene Okonta, visited World Bank Model Primary School and Isieke Central School in Umuahia North LGA to distribute educational materials.
Teachers and administrators reported that vandals frequently break into school compounds, stealing steel windows, roofing sheets, and other vital facilities, leaving classrooms dilapidated and unsafe for learning.
Queen Okoroafor, headmistress of World Bank Model Primary School, lamented:
“This act of vandalism is seriously undermining teaching and learning and rendering the environment unsafe.”
The Education Secretary of Umuahia North LGA, Mrs. Florence Umezuruike, condemned the acts and confirmed that schools in dire condition had been listed for government intervention. She assured that renovation efforts are ongoing, with more schools expected to benefit soon.
Addressing the pupils, OYC president Okonta urged them to embrace discipline, hard work, and respect for teachers, parents, and authorities. He also warned against cultism, drug abuse, fighting, and exam malpractice.
“These sensitization visits are aimed at motivating pupils and drawing the government’s attention to pressing infrastructural challenges in our schools,” Okonta said, adding that teachers remain “molders of society” who deserve recognition.
The council also distributed learning materials, which teachers and pupils said would boost morale. The effort complements Governor Alex Otti’s educational programmes and recent initiatives by the governor’s wife to equip pupils with study kits.
A pupil, Emmanuela Obike, who spoke on behalf of her peers, thanked the OYC and promised that the children would make the best use of the items received.
