From Suleiman Lawal Lafia
Despite stringent efforts put forward by Nasarawa State Government under the watch of Governor Abdullahi Sule to provide enabling environment for learning to all students of various secondary schools in the state, yet some of the schools are still in a sorry condition.
That is to say that some of them are being neglected as no attention has so far been geared towards improving their standard.
The Sule administration needs to do more or improve upon its efforts in making such schools a model type as doing so would greatly improve both teaching and learning.
In a recent visit to some public secondary schools and colleges in the state by our correspondent, it was revealed that a lot needed to be done by the administration in order to meet up with its yearnings and aspirations in educational reforms.
For instance, at Government College Lafia, situated in the heart beat of the capital city, the condition of the college really calls for serious attention.
It really suffers from serious of challenges.
Investigation confirmed that presently, Isa Mustapha Agwai Polytechnic Lafia is occupying or enjoying structures put together by missionaries at Saint Augustine College.
When all missionary schools were retrieved from the original owners, their names were changed too.
In 1999, when the country retuned to democracy, the first civilian governor of the state, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, on assumption of office, decided to establish Nasarawa State Polytechnic in Lafia and the only available space as take off ground was the Teachers College premises.
This generated a serious concern to so many people including, old boys of the college to an extent to which a court case was even instituted.
Government at that time had decided to provide different land for the construction of new site for the school few meters away from the Polytechnic with few classrooms without hostel accommodation for students.
Investigation further showed that structures meant for hostel accommodation now become criminal hide outs for so many years.
Our correspondent reports that the neglected or abandoned projects consumed billions of Naira, but yet their main objective was not achieved.
The relocation of Government College Lafia to its present site was the idea of Senator Abdullahi Adamu immediately after the establishment of Nasarawa Polytechnic Lafia.
This project did not see the light of the day until he left office, precisely on May 29, 2007.
When late Aliyu Akwe Doma came into power for four years, the story remained the same.
The famous Teachers College Lafia has attracted no interest by the state government.
The sympathetic situation was that the students are now learning from the New Site of the college and sleeping at the old hostel as their accommodation.
The situation poses risks to the lives of the students as in many times they are being knocked down by vehicles sometime resulting to their deaths or them sustaining various degrees of injuries.
The Triumph gathered that with the coming of former governor of the state, Senator Umar Tanko Al-makura, the management of the institution raised hope for better learning environment.
However, their dream of having conducive atmosphere was not successful as the efforts cracked down following an ‘I don’t care attitude’ of either subsequent administrations or contractors handling the project.
Some students who spoke with our correspondent begged Governor Sule to rescue them from the menace of insecurity and live-risk scenario during and after their lessons everyday.
“Our life is in danger each day we are coming to school and returning back to our hostels after school hours, in this process, by moving vehicles,” they cried out.
On his part, Governor Sule reiterated the determination of his administration towards completing all abandoned projects he inherited from previous administrations in the state.
He said: “Government College Lafia is one of the abandoned projects that need government urgent attention. This will secure safety of lives and properties of students and the teachers.
It could be recalled that a principal was attacked by criminals at the school premises where they went away with his phone, money and other stuff and left him down with blood flowing on him.
Investigation confirmed that the abandoned projects became a security challenge to all community around the college environment.
