Free education : Abia teachers recommend measures for implementation

Primary and secondary school teachers in Abia have recommended measures for the successful implementation of the State Government’s free education policy.

A cross-section of the teachers, including head teachers and principals, made the recommendation in separate interviews during a survey by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Umuahia and Aba.

The teachers hailed Gov. Alex Otti for the free education policy which, they said, would promote social development and crime reduction in the state.

Mrs Nkechinyere Usuka, the Headmistress, Umuakpara Community Primary School, Okpokoroala Village in Osisioma LGA, said with the initiative the governor had made positive impact in the lives of many families.

Usuka expressed joy that the government provided public schools with diaries, registers and funds for the running of schools and abolished levies.

She, however, said that her school lacked a library and enough books for pupils, seats for teachers and pupils, and a perimeter fence to secure lives and property in the school.

She said that the school was suffering from shortage of teachers, adding that they also had need for a first aid box and water.

She said that with the enrolment of new pupils, the classrooms needed an upgrade.

Mrs Odochi Amalaha, the Principal of Alaiyi Community Senior Secondary, Umuugo, Ugwunagbo LGA, said that the school was in dire need of more teachers.

Amalaha said that she had less than nine teachers, hence the employment of Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) teachers, who were paid by the PTA.

She appealed to the government to give full employment to the PTA teachers who, she said, had sacrificed so much to ensure the students got good education.

She said her school lacked seats for teachers and students, as well as functional science laboratories.

“There is no perimeter fence and no security in the school, resulting in the vandalism of the school’s property, including the roofing sheets, doors and windows,” she said.

Mrs Nwadiuto Ugochukwu, the Headmistress of Umuugo Community Primary School, Umuugo, Ugwunagbo LGA, said the school now receive funds for running cost.

Ugochukwu said that levies had been stopped and physical education reintroduced, adding that textbooks and exercise books were also supplied to the school.

She said that 10 new pupils had been enroled in the new term, describing the development as a testament to the willingness of parents to send their children to public schools under the right atmosphere.

She said the school lacked adequate teachers, textbooks and exercise books, water and security.

Mr Alen Nwogu, the Principal, Ehere Community Comprehensive Secondary School, Ehere, Ogbor Hill, Obingwa LGA, thanked the governor for introducing free education.

Nwogu said the policy would succeed, “if the public schools are upgraded and equipped to improve the quality of teaching and learning”.

He said his school lacked adequate teachers, especially in sciences, plus inadequate classrooms and conveniences.

“There is no security. Hoodlums come in freely to vandalise school’s property.

“They even broke our cesspit sometime ago and took away the iron rods,” he said.

The Headmistress of Ehere Primary School, Ogbor Hill, Obingwa LGA, Mrs Peculiar Chimdindu, said that government had supplied them registers, diaries and textbooks and paid teachers promptly to encourage them.

She said that the school had over 300 students and enroled over 30 new students since January 13.

She said they needed more teachers, improved conveniences, and security to stop vandalism of their property.

Mrs Ijeoma Uzoije, Assistant Headmistress, Alaoji Nomadic Primary School, Alaoji, Ugwunagbo LGA, said that books shared to pupils last term encouraged many to enrol in the school this term.

“Since we resumed three days ago, we have been busy because new pupils have been coming in an unprecedented number.

“I attribute it to the textbooks that the government shared to students last term, which must have encouraged parents to start sending their children to public schools.

“This is a very big encouragement for pupils in public schools because most of them are from poor backgrounds,” she said.

She also said that some of the pupils did not even have school uniforms and suggested that government could help them also with uniforms.

“Our school has about 60 pupils, we have seats but we don’t have classrooms.

“We have borehole but no pumping machine, our toilets have been vandalised, and the doors and roofs have been removed.

“We don’t have land so we need land for the teaching of agriculture, for recreational purposes and expansion of the school structures.

“This classroom block is the only one we have for a school situated in a village and soon it cannot accommodate the number of pupils seeking admission,” she said.

The Headmistress of Tenant Road Primary School, Mrs Onyekachi Uka, said that Otti meant well for Abia children by asking them to go back to public schools.

Uka said that the governor backed the free education policy with the prohibition of the payment of all kinds of levies in public schools and providing exercise books for the pupils to reduce the burden on the parents.

He called for the re-introduction of the school feeding programme which, she said, would help to bring the pupils back to school.

“During the school feeding programme, children were coming to school because they were sure to eat, since they could not eat at home.

She advised government to shut down substandard private schools in the state to ensure sound education for Abia children.

Mrs Christiana Ukaumunna of East Street Primary School, Aba South LGA, said “free education will reduce crime and ensure the safety of children from child trafficking”.

She, therefore, called for the re-introduction of school feeding programme, while appealing to parents and guardians to allow their children and wards to return to public schools.

The Headmistress, Clifford Road Primary School, Aba South LGA, Mrs Olaego Echem, hailed the governor’s instruction that any child not in school during school periods should be picked up by the police.

Echem said that school feeding programme would help a lot “because some parents are finding it difficult to feed the children at home”.

The Headmistress of Ogbo Central Primary School, Mrs Blessing Akano, said that the school had recorded a significant improvement in the pupil enrolment since resumption.

“We have registered eight new pupils, which is an improvement from the situation before now,” she said.

Akano attributed the increase to the government’s introduction of free education, which encouraged parents to enrol their wards in government schools.

She expressed gladness over the growing number of pupils but highlighted the need for additional resources to support effective teaching and learning in public schools.

She said that the school needed textbooks, recreational facilities, security and increased welfare for teachers to perform their duties adequately.

“Although the government has been providing textbooks, however, the number does not go round and the books are vital for making teaching and learning more efficient.

“Also, the government needs to provide recreational facilities for the pupils, because it is essential for their physical and social development,” Akano said.

She underscored the need for improved security in schools and the construction of new conveniences, saying that the existing ones had been vandalised by hoodlums.

Akano commended the government for its efforts in retraining teachers, providing tablets for recording school data and prompt payment of salaries.

“These tools, trainings and prompt payment of salaries have made our work more efficient,” she said.

She urged parents to continue to bring their wards to school, assuring them of the teachers’ readiness to teach.

The Headmistress of Avonipupe Primary School, Umuahia South LGA, Mrs Ngozi Mark, described the pupils’ attendance as encouraging, unlike in the past when children reportedly would not report to school in the first week of resumption.

Mark said: “We have 125 pupils in our nominal roll and 45 pupils have already resumed this term.

“Before now, we used to see as few as nine or 10 pupils at the start of a term.

“The free education policy has been very effective in encouraging parents to bring their children to school,” she said.

Mark said that the school had received textbooks and would receive exercise books soon because schools had been asked to bring their nominal rolls to facilitate the distribution of the books.

She said that the government had provided digital tablets to aid administrative duties.

“We use the tablets to record data and even video the pupils to send updates to the Ministry of Education,” Mark said.

She said that the school had been visited many times by supervisors who carry out checks to ensure standards were maintained.

She emphasised the need for adequate security to safeguard the school’s property and ensure a conducive learning environment.

The Principal of Eziama/Mgbaja Community Junior Secondary School, Mrs Flora Okechi, commended the government for providing operational funds and teaching materials.

“We urgently need more teachers. Currently, we don’t have a Mathematics teacher, and the English teacher was only recently transferred from another school.

“We have been relying on PTA teachers, but since we no longer co0llect PTA levies, we need government intervention.

“The school has only two classrooms and a hall, which are insufficient for the growing student population.

“Therefore, we need more classroom blocks to accommodate the students, who will join us in the future,” she said.

She said the school needed a library, seats and tables for both teachers and students to support teaching and learning.

“This is a new school but we don’t have enough seats.

“There are seats in ASUBEB and old public schools. We hope they will allocate some to us,” she said.

“We didn’t receive the tablets for data recording because the school, established in 2022, is not yet fully captured in the records.

“However, the government assured us we would receive them soon,” she said.

Okechi also said that the school currently had 122 students on its nominal roll, describing it as a significant increase from previous years.

“In 2023, we had about 60 students. By 2024, the figure increased to 80, and now we have 122 students.

“This shows that the free education policy is working effectively,” she said.

Mrs Nneka Anosike, the Assistant Headmistress, Ugwunchara Primary School 1, Umuahia North LGA, said that both the students and parents were responding positively to the governor’s directive.

“The turn-up is actually impressive and we are expecting that more people will make good use of this noble chance given to all Abia children by our amiable governor.

“Many parents are happily bringing their children and we will accept as many as our classrooms can accommodate,” she said.

When asked about the teachers’ preparedness for the new task, she said, “The governor has promised us that he would ensure that we are well catered for.”

Anosike said that the State Government had introduced the 9-3-4 system of education, whereby a student would study from primary to junior secondary before writing his or her first external examination.

“With this new system, there is no more Common Entrance or First School Leaving Certificate Examination,” she said.

The respondents advised the State Government to take urgent steps to checkmate the vandalism of school property, which could pose a threat to the implementation of its free education scheme.

They also recommended the building of teachers’ quarters in schools as well as fencing the premises and recruiting security men to beef up security around the schools.