True State of Government Model Girls Secondary School, Ikot Ekang:
There has been public outcry over the issues bedeviling basic education system in Akwa Ibom State, ranging from the wake of collapsed school buildings and decay of infrastructures in public schools in the state to shortfall of teachers in government owned schools in recent times.
Analysts observe that a weak basic education system automatically produces weak pupils and students which enhances the chain of mediocrity that continues up to the higher education level and the cycle completes itself with the same garbage fed back into society with serious implications for national competitiveness and productivity.
Against this backdrop, this reporter recently picked a popular public secondary school in the State, Government Model Girls Secondary School, Ikot Ekang, Abak, which was commissioned by Governor Udom on Tuesday 23rd May, 2017 as one of his giants strides in the education sector to investigate the level of state government investment in the school to match the standard of a model school in the 21st century.
It would be recalled that Governor Udom Emmanuel in 2017, when he visited Government Model Girls Secondary School, Ikot Ekang, to flag off academic activities, had promised in his inaugural speech at the school ground that his administration will ‘pay particular attention to the school to prove that government can run a quality school as against the view of the people about government businesses’, a promise which earned the governor encomiums from various quarters.
This reporter who was among the journalists that witnessed and reported the commissioning of the school three years ago recently returned to the school to ascertain the level of state government investment in the school and give accurate information to members of the public on the true state of the institution for them to determine if Governor Udom Emmanuel has kept to his promise or welshed on it.
Government Model Girls Secondary School, Ikot Ekang: Background
Located in a serene environment in the ancient city of Abak, the Local Government Area where the deputy governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr Moses Ekpo hails from, Government Model Girls Secondary School, Ikot Ekang Abak, was constructed by the Federal Government through State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB, to serve as one of the Government Model Girls Secondary Schools in the country.
However, the school building project which was initiated in 2012, and completed in 2014 was lying wasted and unattended to by the federal government until 2017, when Akwa Ibom State Government stepped in and took over the school following pleas made by natives of the area to the state government through the then State Commissioner of Education Pastor Paul Alexander.
Sequel to this intervention, the school opened for academic activities in May 2017 with full boarding facilities with the vision: “To produce models, excellent, high moral and outstanding academic future mothers with integrity for the world”.
State of Existing Infrastructures:
The school which resumed academic activities with two classroom blocks comprising of ten classes which were constructed by the federal government has not had any new classroom block added to the existing ones since it was opened. Instead, this reporter who went around the existing buildings discovered that the ones that were constructed by the federal government are gradually falling into decay.
As at when this reporter visited the school, all the classroom doors were in a state of dilapidation. Some classroom doors were completely pulled off from their hinges while some were loosely hung on their hinges and could fall on a child if urgent repair work is not carried out on them.
The same situation was observed about the dinning hall which is now left with ramshackle doors loosely hung on hinges while the dinning hall is infested with reptiles which now have free access to the dinning hall since the doors are not in good condition.
Equally, many of the dinning tables and chairs have been broken with various parts scattered in the building.Worse still, some classes have spoiled white boards supported with broken chairs. That is the True State of Government Model Girls Secondary School, Ikot Ekang.
Need for More Classrooms
By September if not the disruption of the school Calendar by Covid-19 pandemic, the school is expected to have SSI class. However, there is no classroom block to accommodate the students that will be promoted to senior secondary one (SS1) and the new students that would seek admission in SS1 class in the new academic session.
A staff of the school who confided in this reporter revealed that some classes in the existing junior section have more than 40 students per class due to insufficient classrooms to accommodate new arms contrary to the recommended standard by the National Policy on Education which stipulates that the teacher-pupil ratio should be 1:40.
That is the True State of Government Model Girls Secondary School, Ikot Ekang.
Library Facilities
According to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO), ”Strong and effective school libraries are indispensable adjuncts to education, a base for generating innovative thinking, a stimulus to culture, and an aid to individual self-development”.
The school library has three book shelves with few textbooks on each shelf while the remaining spaces on the shelves are left empty which in expert’s opinion is far below the standard expected of a government model school library in the 21st century.
This brings to question the level of state government preparedness to help the school to serve as a model of excellence to other schools in academic performance in line with the school motto: ‘modelling excellence’.
It would also be recalled that Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly through the House Committee on Education had on 24th February, 2020, raised concerns on the poor state of school libraries and the dearth of infrastructures in public primary and secondary schools in the State.
This came at the time the Chairman House Committee on Education and member representing Ibiono Ibom State Constituency Hon. Godwin Ekpo, led members of the committee to pay a courtesy call on the Commissioner of Education Prof. Nse Essien at the Ministry of Education, Idongesit Nkanga Secretariat, Uyo, as part of their oversight function.
Healthcare Facilities
Based on findings carried out by this reporter, Government Model Girls Secondary School Ikot Ekang at inception did not have any special block to serve as health centre among the buildings that were constructed by the federal government before the state government took over the school.
On resumption in 2017, a room within the administrative block was converted to a health centre to attain to the health challenges of students.
According to a staff who confided in this reporter: ”With the growing need for the school to have a separate structure to serve as a health centre, Parents Teachers Association (PTA) stepped in and started the construction of a health centre for the school but the building project could not be completed as funds generated by PTA for the purpose were used to pay community teachers teaching in the school.”
That is the True State of Government Model Girls Secondary School, Ikot Ekang.
With the prevalence of Covid-19 pandemic and with the growing number of cases in the state, the need for the school health centre to be completely detached from the administrative block becomes no longer an option but a necessity.
Staff Strength:
The school have a total of 18 teachers, two vice principals and the principal bringing it to a total of 20 staff.
According a source who confided in our reporter, the school does not have teachers teaching subjects like Christian Religious Education and Civil Education.
The source revealed that during the first year of resumption in 2017, a parent who brought his daughter for admission quickly withdrew his daughter when he discovered that the school does not have a single CRS teacher.
The source said the parent had questioned the school management on what his daughter will learn in a school where there is no CRS teacher to teach her moral instructions.
The source further revealed that about a year ago, an N power staff who was posted to the school accepted to handle the subject which was not even within her discipline. Sadly, with the recent sacking of N power volunteers nationwide, it means the school at present is without CRS teacher.
Recent Student Enrolments
According to a reliable source who spoke with this reporter on condition of anonymity, the school which had close to 400 students on the first year of resumption has witnessed a steady decline in student enrolments in the last two years due to the dearth of infrastructures and lack of sufficient teachers in the school.
The source said most parents who had their wards in the school have withdrawn them due to the state of facilities in the school. Available records reveals that before the close of second term, student population in the school was below 340.
Kitchen Facilities
At inauguration, the school had an ongoing building structure which was to serve as the school kitchen. However, when this reporter visited the school recently, the structure was overgrown with weeds as the kitchen building construction was long abandoned by the state government.
The school management in its bid to provide a temporary structure for cooks to prepare food for the students improvised a temporary structure close to the abandoned kitchen building which now serves as the school kitchen.
State of Security
The school before inauguration in 2017 had some security men that were protecting facilities in the school against vandalism. When it was commissioned for academic activities in May 2017, some of the security men were relieved from their duty as the school management could not take care of them.
At present, the school have six security men securing the school who are currently paid by the school management. This reporter gathered from the security men that non of them is employed by the state government. ”The security men are left at the mercy of whatever the school management gives them at the end of the month,” one of the school security officers had said.
A teacher in the school while interacting with this reporter had also complained about some of the security men soliciting for money from teachers in the school to take care of themselves
