By Samuel Ibezim
Hon. Philip Ejiogu, member representing Owerri North State Constituency at the Imo State House of Assembly, said that Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, Imo State governor, is a due process compliant and will work to ensure that tertiary institutions and educational sector functions well by giving it a facelift and quality attention.
Hon. Ejiogu who is the House of Assembly Committee Chairman on Education, stated this on Wednesday, October 2, when the committee visited Imo State Polytechnic Umuagwo, Imo State College of Health and Management Sciences, Amaigbo and Isu High School, Nwangele on oversight function. He assured Imolites that the decay of academic infrastructures as was witnessed under the past government would become thing of the past.
He was accompanied to the schools by committee members, Hon. Edy Obinna of Aboh Mbaise State Constituency and Hon. Amarachi Iwuanyanwu of Nwangele State Constituency. The committee explained that they visited some of the institutions to have a firsthand information of challenges facing them.
Itemizing some of the problems in Imo State Polytechnic, the Rector, Dr. Patrick Njoku, who assumed leadership of the school about three months ago, said that a lot of the staff were yet to receive full salaries in addition to three months arrears of salaries. He also revealed that pensions and gratuities have not been paid, thereby affecting the staff input because it is demoralizing. However, he informed that he has been able to restore relative peace in the campus including the host communities.
Further, Dr. Njoku listed among other things; poor finances, poor power supply in the school, parameter fencing to wade off herdsmen encroachment, funding and restoration of the institution satellite campuses of Ehime Mbano and Orlu to its status quo.
Similarly, at Imo State College of Health and Management Sciences, the institution looks desolate with dilapidated structures and poor facilities to cater for the students. A deep gully at the entrance of the school almost rendered it impassable and a kind of death trap for users. The only female hostel is in terrible state and unsafe for human habitation.
Recounting the woes of the school, the Provost, Pharm. Okey Obiasogu, said that the environment was more bad and clearly impassable when he assumed leadership, but was able to grade some roads.
He appealed for assistance for hostels, conference rooms and classrooms, adding that the school presently has nothing to stand them out as a standard citadel of learning. He further said that lack of accreditation dropped students enrollment from about 3,000 to a paltry number of 164 students.
A brief stopover at Isu High School, left much to be desired and imagined on how students study in such environment. The buildings were clearly in shambles as Trumpeta gathered that it was one of the oldest schools in Orlu and has produced useful graduates for decades that are doing great in the globe, yet the school is left to rot away.
Adding their voices to the visitations, Hon. Eddy Obinna assured that they would encourage and support the present government to improve on the schools. He said that education committee is on track and would restore the satellite campuses of ImoPoly to its status quo by ensuring that the law is amended to that effect.
Also, Hon. Amarachi Iwuanyanwu urged the schools to work hand in hand with members of the committee and the government to ensure that the interests of the schools are protected so as to restore them to standard. He assured them that the schools won’t go extinct and said that they would work to ensure that ImoPoly is connected back to power supply.
Trumpeta observed that almost the Imo State tertiary institutions have lost accreditation of major courses in the schools.
