Abia Community urges Ikpeazu to take over mission schools
Five years after the Abia state government handed over schools to churches and individuals, the Ehere autonomous community in Obingwa council area, has called on Governor Okezie Ikpeazu to take over the schools.
Traditional ruler of the Community, Eze Young Nwangwa said most of the schools had been mismanaged with dilapidated buildings and lack of qualified teachers.
Eze Nwangwa who stated this while reacting to the recent destruction of a shopping mall being built at the Secondary Technical School, Aba, by the state government, called on the governor to save the educational future of the students studying in such schools.
“The government had good intentions in handing over the schools to the churches and individuals but some of them were ill-advised because some of them never knew how the schools were built in the first place. Some of these churches and individuals who got these schools returned to them by the government are now selling off part of the school lands. Others have converted classrooms to living rooms and rented them to the public,” the monarch said.
He added, “In Ogbor Hill and Ehere communities, there are no more public schools since Secondary Technical School, Wilcox Memorial Comprehensive Secondary School, All Saints Secondary, Ehere, Girls High School, Ovom Girls High School and others, were handed over to missions and individuals.
“If you consider the high tuition fees charged by these missions and individuals, there is no doubt that education has been priced away from indigent students.”