Students in rural communities of Tai and Gokana Local Government Areas of Rivers State have lamented the absence of academic staff and crumbling infrastructure as it cast a shadow over their academic aspirations.

A visit by Kristina Reports to both local government areas on Monday, April 29, 2024 revealed the dismal conditions of the schools and challenges of the students.

Students were seen loitering during learning hours, most of the schools visited were in poor conditions, dilapidated, and unconducive for learning.

Rebecca Pango, a determined Senior Secondary School III student, spoke of her anguish, grappling with subjects like Mathematics and History without proper guidance.

“I am in SS3, an Art student, I’m finding it more difficult in Mathematics. The worst is that, the Maths teacher, though he is trying his best but I don’t seem to understand. Secondly, history, I’m offering history, but there’s no history teacher.”

Another student, Kogbara Lucky, in Senior Secondary School I, pleaded for relief from menial tasks like grass cutting, which usurp precious learning hours.

“The students are suffering, we are cutting grass every time and we are not learning,” he implores. “We don’t even have markers.”

The dire situation extends beyond academic struggles.

Biira Destiny recounts the financial strain of daily commutes and the unused hostel facilities that could alleviate their burdens.

“The number one challenge I am facing is the cost of transportation from my community to this school every day,” she shares. “The school has a hostel block that the government provided, and I will like them to use it.”

Moreover, the absence of essential facilities like emergency units compounds their vulnerability.

“We need something like an emergency center,” Biira emphasizes, “if you are sick now, nothing like medication, the highest thing they will tell you is to go home, no ambulance or sick bay, we need a nurse and a matron.”

Stella Charles Ndem, an SSS 3 student, the senior prefect, paints a grim picture of their reality.

“Our challenges are we don’t have teachers and we don’t have many students in this school. We want the government to develop our school, to make our school better.”

Even educators like Barika Nkporbu shed light on the systemic failures plaguing rural institutions.

“Most of the challenges we are having, most especially the academic staff, we lack academic staff in almost all the subjects.”

Off the record, a principal bemoans the lack of resources and staff, citing inferior infrastructure and a dearth of maintenance funds.

Emphasizing that policies made at the ministry of education level does not allow institutions demand from parents’ provision of learning materials, yet the ministry has stopped providing those material for a long time now.

The schools visited stand as grim reminders of a neglected education system, pleading for intervention to breathe life into their halls once more.

They called on the Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara to heed their cries and rejuvenate education system in rural villages.