*Articulate Success reveals career ambition
* School Head To Faces Education Commissioner on Monday
* Roof once collapsed on students’ heads during school hours – Angry residents
By Our Correspondents
WARRI TODAY writes on how an innocent seven-year-old angry outburst against an extortionist public school management exposed the ills, failures of the Delta State Basic Education system.
When little Success Adegor vent her verbal anger at the Okotie Eboh Primary School I authorities in Sapele, Delta state March 16 for kicking her out of the public school for failure to pay examination fees, the seven year was innocently only expressing an hurting frustration.
Beyond her imagination, not only has the video of her anger which went viral exposed the school’s Head Teacher as indulging in extortion on the said fees for which she sent the Primary 3 pupil home, denying her the day’s studies, the development also exposed the inciting unwillingness of the current Delta State Government to provision of quality education given the piteous state and risk under which Sucess her mates learn.
When WARRI TODAY visited the School on Saturday situated at Urban Area off Macpherson road in the old city of Sapele, the tattered roofs of the one storey building and a bungalow were yawning wide open leakages, the school grounds a haven for open defecation apparently by neighboring residents. The toilet unkempt and the gates open to free entry and exit.
ALSO READ: VIDEO: Sapele LG chairman visits, awards scholarship to pupil who was sent home over school fees
Roof once collapsed on students’ heads during school hours – Angry residents
A neighboring resident who spoke on anonymity said, “The late Okotie Eboh who founded this school in around 1960 must be very angry with its sorry state now from wherever he’s seeing it. The zinc in the open roofs portions are being blown off from time to time.
“There was a day a section of the roof collapsed on the top floor during school hours. It was a miracle that no pupil in the class got hurt. The place has been a mess for years and still deteriorating, but government at all levels don’t care.”
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The poor state of the school and the danger it poses to pupils explain why the scholarship awarded by the Sapele Local Government Chairman, Eugene Inoaghan, to Success on account of her viral video, was met with scorn and ingratitude from majority public respondents who noted that the face saving charity should be followed with genuine upgrade of the lifeless school structures.
School Head To Faces Education Commissioner on Monday
Delta State Commissioner for Basic Education, Chinedu Ibe, in modest preliminary response to the Success’s viral video prompted that the School Head may have acted unethically in the attitude towards the innocent pupil.
Chiedu who is expected to pay a fact finding visit to the school Monday 21 said, “We operate free education in Delta State.
However, we discovered overtime that some school heads take the law into their hands by imposing illegal levies. We have battled this in the last three and half years of this administration. We have had school heads suspended and demoted.
“This May well be another case of a school head taking laws into her hands and imposing levies that ought not to be imposed on the students. We have what we referred as ‘approved levy’ in our schools. It is issued by the ministry (Education). Approved levy is N100 for consumables and no school head has the right to collect above N100.
“Also, for sports wears because of inter-house sports and other sporting activities, we have a flat rate of N750. It’s clearly specified and clearly defined. In this case, I understand that it was exam levy of N800 and a levy for a book of N1,000 and another one for N300.
“Obviously, the school head has no right, firstly to collect or impose those levies on pupils. Second, the school head also has no right to have sent the child home. Sending the child home on her own, imagine if something had happened to her between when she left the school and when she gets home, the school head would be held responsible.
“Once again, we are appealing to school heads who take the laws into their hands. I have caused a preliminary investigation to be conducted on Friday and I have got the report. There’s what we call concept of fair hearing and we must also hear from the school head. I do not doubt the little girl (Success) but for fair hearing, I am visiting the school on Monday.
“These students are not expected to be pay any exam levy. Even in private schools, they don’t even pay. The only external exam they pay for is WAEC when they are eventually in SS3. The primary six exams are borne by the state government, Junior WAEC (JSS3) also borne by government. It’s only Senior Secondary (WAEC) that the students borne themselves.
“There is nothing like examination levy and the school heads have no right to impose such fee. Let’s give her the opportunity to hear from her. The video has been trending for the last two days and she must be aware of it. If I am not convinced or satisfied with her response, judgment or punishment will be meted out on her pending conclusion of a more detailed investigation in line with civil service rules.”
Articulate Success reveals career ambition
Away from the extortions, failures and management misconducts in Delta state’s school, it was little surprise that articulate Success wants to be a lawyer as a career ambition.
“I like the looks of lawyers on their courts attires and the fact that they judge people. I want to be a lawyer when I grow up. In short I like everything about them”, smiling Success told WARRI TODAY.
She’s not just audacious in speaking her mind, not minding whose ox is gored, she’s also the best student in her class. “I took first the last term and I will be happy to maintain that pride”, she said.
“I am also grateful to all who have shown support with prayers and donations to my parents to assist my education since what happened to me in my school. May God bless all who have been concerned. I hope to be in a better school”, she further.
