A save-our-souls (SOS) message has been sent to the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara to quickly come to the aid of Community Secondary School (CSS), Rumuduru in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The dire state of the school is most expressed in the fact that students sit on the bare floor to learn and the teachers hardly have teaching aids.

Speaking with Kristina Reports during a visit to the school on Friday, May 10, 2024, the Principal of CSS, Happiness Ordu narrated the ordeals the staff and students are dealing with, drew the attention of the Governor to the distressing state of the institution.

“There are a lot of challenges because when I assumed duty here, I saw that the children are being seated on the ground. We don’t have chairs, we don’t have light because when the classes are overcrowded, the children feel suffocated, and some of them prefer coming outside, making the class very rowdy.”

“We don’t have enough classrooms, we don’t have chairs, we don’t have light, and we are managing one borehole for the three schools.”

“I buy marker for the school. I buy marker every term. As it is now, I want to send for marker today, but the teacher was not available to get us the marker, so I buy marker every term for the school.”

“I bought last term, and I am buying this term. With the little thing I generate from the school, but it’s still my money.”

Calling on stakeholders to intervene to obviate the plight of the school, the principal shed light on the financial burden the school was bearing despite the fact that Rivers State is one of the few States offering free education, stressing that lack of essential supplies in the school forces students to bear the additional costs.

A Junior Secondary School (JSS) III student, Ferdinand Gold echoed this sentiment, stating that, “the problems we are having in our school, Community Secondary School, Rumuduru, is we don’t have desks, we are lacking desks, we need chairs, desks; we need a library, we need electricity, we need a generator, like we don’t have a fan in our classrooms”.

Also lamenting the sorry state of the school, another JSS III student, Liberty Barminy further emphasized the urgent need for intervention.

“Challenges we are having in our school include the need for more boards as the existing ones are expired, a bigger staff room for our teachers for fresh air, and also fans. We need electricity. We need more seats; we sit on the floor to learn, and it’s discouraging”.

The plea from both the principal and students of Community Secondary School, Rumuduru is a call to action for the government to urgently intervene and address the dire conditions that hinder effective teaching and learning.