Under a joyful atmosphere, old students of Community Secondary School, Amachalla (CSSA), Enugu-Ezike, Igbo-Eze North local council of Enugu State recently handed over a fully refurbished hall to the school authority.

The event also served as a reunion party for former students of the school, many of who had not met since graduating many years ago.
So, the old students, who executed the project under the aegis of CSSA Alumni Association, members of staff and current students of the school were all in high spirits throughout the duration of the event, which was also used to formally inaugurate the Alumni Association.

The students were particularly happy because it was feared that the West African Examination Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO) would have withdrawn the accreditation of the school as a centre for Senior School Certificate Examinations over the dilapidated state of the facility.

The refurbished hall serves partly as an examination hall for students. And before the Alumni embarked on the refurbishment, both examination bodies were said to have warned the school authorities of the impending withdrawal of accreditation on account of the poor state of the hall.

Speaking during the ceremony, the Chairman of the alumni association, Mr. Aniagboso Eze, said the fear was part of what spurred the old students into action.

His words: “Today we have made history in the entire Enugu-Ezike and its surroundings. This was a journey that started in a very unusual way and at an unusual time, bringing together a number of former students on a WhatApp platform to help ameliorate the deplorable state of our alma mater. The project began when the economy was on a lockdown in 2020 and things were extremely difficult but God saw us through. It is not about the project but about how we did it. It was difficult but fun all through.

“We were not certain to what extent we could go at first, but we were all convinced that the school needed our support. I am particularly happy and proud of what we have achieved and how far we have gone. By this time last year, we were all seated inside a 40 per cent uncompleted building, but today we are seated in an aesthetically completed building.”

According to him, the completion of the project has given birth to a full-fledged alumni association. “When I started consulting people, it was for us to see how we could do some palliatives to the dilapidated structures of our alma mater but that call has metamorphosed into a strong alumni association today; nobody called anybody to form an alumni association but nature has done it. Today marks the end of the emergency response and the beginning of a full-fledged alumni association,” he noted.

Aniagboso gave the assurance that the association would still intervene in other ways that would uplift the standard of teaching and learning in the school, adding that he was convinced the association could do more.

He noted: “As we pat ourselves on the back for work well done, we need to remind ourselves and other concerned stakeholders that a lot needs to be done at CSS Amachalla. CSS Amachalla still has the following challenges: Several dilapidated buildings, lack of computer laboratory, lack of suitable principal’s office and staff room, lack of suitable restrooms for staff and students, inadequate science laboratory equipment and library materials and lack of fence, among others.

“The school and the alumni association cannot do all these alone. We therefore implore the Enugu State government as well as kind benefactors to intervene in whichever way to save the school. We also entreat the state Post Primary School Management Board (PPSMB) to always support the school by sending qualified teachers and adequate teaching and learning materials.”

He encouraged members of the association not to slumber in the face of the daunting challenges ahead, saying: “I want to encourage us to keep to the habit of always giving back to society through any means possible. Let us invite our classmates, friends and colleagues to join this moving train heading to a destination that will be rewarding both here and hereafter.”

The principal of the school, Mrs. Cecilia Ezeja, appreciated members of the association for the gesture, pledging that the school authority, under her watch, would work hard to ensure the maintenance of the facility.

She also promised to convey the requests of the association to the state government through the PPSMB, while calling for more support from the association and other kind-hearted members of the community.