Primary schools in oil region may gulp over N1.03trn to rebuild

as NDDC justifies intervention

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has declared the condition of primary schools in the oil region as simply deplorable, but says it has completed the rebuilding of a model in Rivers State to march to all the nine oil states in Nigeria.

Rebuilding the over 9,400 primary schools in deplorable condition in the oil region may however gulp over N1.03 trillion, going by the rate of N110 million to build a model primary school in the region at least by 2010 cost rates submitted by some states.

A research once commissioned for the master-plan of the oil region indicated that less than 10 percent of school buildings were in any good shape as of 2008, and that about 947 good seats where 12,000 were required in each state (less than 8%) were available while teacher-student ratio was as low as one to 94 in some local council areas, especially in the riverine areas and interiors where most teachers dreaded to serve.

The NDDC however unveiled a completed primary school model last week at Amalem community of Abua Central in Abua/Odual local council of Rivers State. The model school, which replaced the old school building of Agbebi Memorial State School built in 1957, now boasts of 10 standard classrooms, common rooms, toilets, washrooms, water tanks, among others, according to the commission.

The executive director, finance and administration, NDDC Director, Henry Ogiri, who commissioned this, said that the NDDC was faced with a situation where most schools in the nine states under the Commission were in deplorable conditions with dilapidated structures.

The finance expert regretted that in some of the schools in the region, students attended classes with their own desks, while others were made to learn under the shade of trees.

Faced with this deplorable situation, the executive director said the intervention agency (NDDC) thought it necessary to re-model the schools in the oil region and bring them to the standard of modern-day schools that could support effective learning.

The NDDC did not disclose the cost of doing this at the completed site but the Chibuike Amaechi administration had launched its own project in 2009 at N108 million each, furnishing excluded.

Amaechi had said a survey revealed that the old 1300 primary schools his administration inherited had six classrooms each, making 7,800, whereas he planned to build 750 schools of 14 classrooms each to deliver 10,500 classrooms. He was only able to report delivering 500 (including some few storey buildings) for over 700 classrooms most of which were equipped.

His design hoped to give each primary school state-of-the-art facilities including internet, library, football pitch, sick-bay, basket ball, school farm, and assembly hall for about 1000 pupils.

BusinessDay investigations reveal that each of the nine NDDC states has an average of 1100 primary schools. The NDDC has only completed one, promising to replicate the model in all the nine states of the Niger Delta to “address the challenge of decaying infrastructure in the education sector”.

Ogiri, who spoke in an interview with newsmen in Port Harcourt said that the overall objective was to enhance teaching and learning in such a way as to make education very interesting to school children.

He explained: “The NDDC feels that education is an all-encompassing training process. If the school is in a way that can support learning effectively, then of course, students will be motivated to go to school.”

The NDDC has an average annual budget of N300Bn with projects valued at over one trillion naira starring it in the face for completion. This has scared experts who wonder where the commission would raise the funds to meet the rebuilding project of primary schools in all the nine states, when indeed other states would get a brush. For over five years, the commission has been battling to deliver its programme of building one students hostel (500 bed spaces) in each state.

Reacting at the unveiling of a model primary school in his area, the caretaker committee chairman of Abua/Odual local council area, Isaac Ukwe, who inspected the model school in the company of other stakeholders, expressed delight at what he described as the beautiful edifice built for his people by the NDDC. He said that as an oil-bearing community that had contributed immensely to the economic growth of Nigeria, his council area deserved the attention which the NDDC had given to it by rebuilding and remodelling the 58-year-old Agbebi Memorial State School.

He said: “I also pray that the NDDC should not stop at giving us a beautiful school building. There is need to also give us a well equipped library to enable our children read books from different parts of the world.”

The school Headmaster, Ogini Thankyou, said that the model school had provided a better condition for learning for the pupils. He remarked that the number of pupils enrolled in the school had been growing steadily since the modern building was completed.

He said: “Previously, we had only 210 pupils, but now we have 300 even as schools have just resumed. Obviously, the beautiful building and the surrounding environment are attracting more pupils to our school”.

Giving his own impressions, the paramount ruler of Omalema Community in Abua Central, Imerari Anatho, said that his domain did not have any tangible federal presence before now, but hoped that more children in the area would be attracted to the model school.