Akwa Ibom to sanction erring students in public schools

Akwa Ibom State Government has vowed to support any school principal of public school whose student is arrested for indiscipline or involvement in any of the cult-related activities.

The state Commissioner for Education, Prof. Nse Essien, said this while addressing members of staff and students of Government Technical College, Ewet, in the wake of reports of unruly behaviour among the students.

“In the last two weeks, we have recorded a lot of incidences of violence attributed to students of Ewet Technical College and we condemn them in strong terms. Henceforth, any property you destroy, it’s mandatory you will pay for it. It is high time you start behaving like students. Your school has become so notorious for fomenting trouble everywhere. And if you are caught, you will spend some time in detention and anyone found culpable will be dismissed to serve as deterrent to others,” he said.

According to the commissioner, such steps have become necessary, as no sane government would fold its hands to watch the future leaders of the country and state always involving in action that is detrimental to a better society.

He condemned the attitude of the students, describing it as shameful, adding that students from the school were the most notorious set of students in the state.

Essien, who stressed that the time was up for government to institute peace and discipline in trouble-prone public schools in the state, said: “This government is strongly averse to cultism, truancy, inter-school clashes and other forms of vices and was ready to root out the bad eggs among them to restore sanity to the system,” he said.

The commissioner, therefore, promised to monitor the school on a regular basis to ensure compliance with government directives, stressing that government was ready to take drastic measures to curb the menace plaguing the school.

“Government efforts in the education sector are targeted at producing responsible students who will be useful to the society in future, must concentrate on their studies and refrain from acts capable of damaging their future,” he said.

He charged teachers in public schools across the state to know their primary responsibility to produce quality products (students), which would come as a result of their guidance, describing the attitude of their students as a huge embarrassment to the state.

He also urged them to show extra interest in what happens in school, as academic performance must be balanced with the moral aspects of training.

“The problem here is not too difficult to handle, it is to identify and get rid of them.”