Students and management of the Anambra State College of Nursing Sciences, Nkpor, in Idemili North Local Government Area of the state, are grieving over the erosion menace currently threatening the existence of the school and putting it’s academic activities in limbo.
The students lamented that the unfortunate situation has been left unattended to over the years, leading to many classrooms in the school being consumed by the menace, while a section of the school campus has been turned into refuse dump as people now dump refuse indiscriminately in the area.
South-East PUNCH correspondent, who visited the college during its 2022/2023 matriculation/capping ceremony, on Tuesday, observed that the roads leading to the school, from Our Ladies Bus Stop, along the Nkpor-Enugu Old Road through to the Umusiome Nkpor By-pass have been totally overtaken by erosion, while refuse dumps litter the roads, up to the school compound.
Speaking through the President of the Students’ Union Government, SUG, of the school, Chidi Chuba, the students lamented, “The erosion is terrible as you can see. It has affected our academics because we no longer have enough classrooms to receive our lectures. The gully erosion has washed away over three classroom blocks and is encroaching on more classrooms.”
Chuba added, “To worsen the situation, all the residents around the community have turned the place into refuse dump due to years of neglect. And the ugly stench emanating from the gully is sickening. An epidemic may breakout from there if nothing is done about it.
“The menace is also threatening the lives, property and academics of both the students and staff of the college and we are using this medium to urge the state government to quickly save us by intervening promptly concerning the natural disaster that had overtaken our classroom blocks.”
A former Head of Service, HoS in Anambra State, Chief Harry Udu, who was also at the ceremony called on the state governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, to come to the rescue of the college community and its environs by rehabilitating the roads leading to the college.
Udu said, “We know that the state governor is a responsive and a solution governor and we urge him to quickly award the road leading from Our Ladies Bus Stop, Nkpor-Enugu Old Road to the Nursing School through to the Umusiome Nkpor By-pass, which is in a terrible state.
“Reconstructing the college road would also decongest the incessant gridlock experienced at Afor Nkpor road junction by motorists and other road users.
“Driving to this college to witness the matriculation/capping ceremony was a nightmare. The school environment and the roads are strategic and will impact positively on the residents around, the students and staff of the college and other road users.
“I just want the governor, who has listening ears to include these roads to the several kilometers of roads he is doing already in the state.”
The college Provost, Dr Juliana Nwazuruoke, on her part, said she would be one of the happiest persons if the state government reconstructs the roads and tackle the erosion menace, saying that the college management had written several letters to successive administrations concerning the terrible state of the college environment, but none has received any tangible response.
Nwazuruoke said, “This institution is the only state-owned College of Nursing Sciences, others are owned by missions, we hope that the state government comes to our rescue, not just to reconstruct the roads, but to tackle the erosion menace which has displaced us from three classroom blocks.
“The gully erosion has affected about three classroom blocks and it is encroaching more. To worsen the situation, the residents have turned the place into a refuse dump.”
In his remarks, the Anambra State Commissioner for Health, Dr Afam Obidike, who was a special guest at the ceremony, after going round the school on inspection to assess the extent of the erosion damage and other pressing needs facing the college, contacted the Commissioner for Works and immediately urged him to come to the school to inspect the erosion site and communicate same to the governor for possible intervention.
Obidike said, “The Commissioner for Works would be here soon on a working visit for an on-the-spot assessment of the erosion site. I am sure he would see what the state government can do about the road to this place. I will discuss with with the local government chairman about the road.
“But know that it is not easy, because the state government resources are lean. The state government is currently constructing about 420-kilometer roads across the state. That is massive and problems are increasing everyday, but we will continue to do our best, this is our school and we shall make sure things improve here.”
The highlights of the third joint matriculation ceremony include the capping of the new student nurses and midwives, and oath taking.
The trio of Adaku Delight Nnoruka, Uzoma Diamond Okeke, Sonia Chiamaka Nkechika, in their separate speeches thanked God, their parents and tutors for helping them scale through the ‘almighty’ PTS examinations out of about 4,000 students that attempted the examination after six months.
