EDUCATION Female students distressed after Plapoly hostel fire
Afire at the female hostel of Plateau State Polytechnic, Jos campus last week, has left dozens of students distressed and homeless. The fire destroyed the building and the girls’ possessions, including their certificates.
A source said the fire broke out from a cooking gas cylinder explosion in a room where a student was said to be preparing her meals. There were 22 rooms in the building and each room was occupied by at least eight students, which was the allowable number of students per room.
The speed with which the blaze spread and destroyed the building was said to be alarming. Authorities have launched a technical inquiry.
Following the incident, the institution's management declared seven lecturefree days to enable the distressed students build up their strengths. The one week lecture free period was also intended to give the institution time to examine the extent of damage and to put other plans in place to get the students settled.
On the other hand, some students said they haven’t gotten over the shock yet. An NDII Public Administration student, Kemi Oluba, said she has no enough money to pay for rent so she was squatting in her friend’s room whose rent had also expired. The friend, she said, will not renew the rent because she had completed her studies and would be mobilised for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) soon.
"The fire incident happened all of a sudden. So, I was displaced and I wasn't prepared for anything of such. I don't have any money to pay for rent o right now. Even the one week break given might not be enough for us to get over the trauma, pull ourselves together and continue our studies.
“The truth is that if you don't know where to stay or you are not comfortable with where you are staying your lectures would be affected because whenever you are in class you will be thinking of where to sleep or how you would spend the night," she said.
Recounting her own ordeal, a HND 1 student, Linda Edward, who lost her belongings to the fire said she came from Kano and that she didn't have anyone in Jos to live with.
She said even after the one-week break, she still didn't know where to reside, go to bed and to classes in good time. She said so many students have been rendered homeless, and therefore called on the school authorities and the government to come to their aid.
The School Matron, Mrs Rita Gidado, said no one was hurt in the fire, adding that she has calmed the students down and got them ready to continue their classes.
She said members of the state House of Assembly and other top public servants from the governor’s office as well as many well-meaning individuals have visited the school and sympathised with the students and promised to assist in one way or the other.
Mrs Gidado warned against apportioning blame to anyone over the incident because that could stoke disaffection and disunity among the students. She advised the affected students to endeavor to live with their friends or family members until something would be arranged for them.
Meanwhile, the school’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Dokotri Mathew, said the management, through the one-week break, gave the students leverage so that they can go home and get little restoration before coming back.
He said the school’s management has also gone round to assess the damage and the students’ ordeal, and has submitted a preliminary report to the government.
According to the PRO, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) have been reached, adding that SEMA has requested for the comprehensive details of the students that were involved and the total monetary value of the loss from the fire.
With these and many other things put in place, Mathew said the students would soon be resettled, and that the hostel would be reconstructed. He advised those that have lost credentials and other vital documents to go to the police and get a report as well as court affidavit so that it can become a legal document, which the institution and others would honour.
He said besides reconstructing the hostel in a manner that external kitchens would be provided, other measures have been put in place and strict guidelines would be given and enforced on all those living in the hostel in order to forestall a recurrence.
He advised the students to always live simply in the hostel rather than bringing in all their properties and living lavishly, because apart from fire outbreaks, their properties could be stolen or any other unexpected incident happen.