The Akwa Ibom State Universal Basic Education Board has expressed concern over the destruction of infrastructure in the state’s public elementary schools.
A SUBEB board member, John Udoh, who raised the alarm while speaking with newsmen in Uyo during an inspection of schools on Saturday, bemoaned how hoodlums raided the schools and destroyed the roofs of classrooms and other equipment, including desks.
Udoh wondered why people would vandalise property meant to be beneficial to everyone in their locality.
He said, “There is too much vandalism in our schools. The public should protect government property within their domain. It is disheartening that the government will provide toilet facilities and human beings will destroy them. For instance, the primary school in Itam is a UBE school. The hoodlums removed the overhead tank. They drove a pick-up car to the place and removed the overhead tank in broad daylight.
“The question is — who will suffer it? What is wrong with the village? Was this thing built in ONNA? They just did it to spite the governor; it was built in Itam. When I went to inspect UBE Primary School, I discovered that they had removed everything—the wash-hand basins, the seats, everything. This is a recurring thing in many schools in the state.
“The rate of abuse of government property is alarming. There are some local government areas we visited for inspection and we discovered that they had removed the pumps that supply water to the school.’’
Udoh described the act as sabotage of government efforts, claiming that people believed the government did not provide the infrastructure.
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