Esenaebe Secondary School is one of the two public secondary schools in Bomadi, the Headquarter of Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State.

The school which was founded in 1956 was once a Teachers’ Training College (co-Educational institution) and later downgraded to a secondary school in 2006.

The school makes use of the then Teachers’ Training College facilities of 1956. It consists of different buildings; among them are about 20 classrooms, Administrative Block, library, laboratory and staff quarters.

However learning cannot be done effectively or enjoyed in the midst of these numerous buildings as the classrooms, laboratory and the library are dilapidated.

Speaking with a teacher who pleaded anonymity, while expressing the challenges they face stated that: “We have about 1300 students and each class is divided into arms A, B, C, D, E and F. Each class has two arms combined because there are not enough classes considering the population of the school which makes the classes compacted. “Some students sit on the floor and windows as there are not enough seats for students.”

Another teacher who also pleaded anonymity said that, “science students do not get appropriate science lecture because there is no science laboratory or equipment to carry out experiment as the lab has been damaged and abandoned”.

Speaking on the need for the government to come to their aid, a student of the school Miss Ebikonboere who is in SS1 said that: “we cannot learn when it is raining due to leakages. Our classrooms are bad, roofs have fallen off, the walls are cracked,the windows have fallen off, not enough sits and the class has no enough space because we are many in the class”.

According to reports there have been many cries for help by the community and the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) of the school. Promises were made and that the contract has been awarded to an ex-militant leader and some state house of assembly members.

Mrs Rebecca Moses, a mother of 5, whose child is a student of the school, expressed sadness saying: “my son always comes back from school tired because he has no seat in school.”

Also an indigene of the community, who identified himself as Mr. Forcados Christian, said that “the school lacks so many things. At this stage this school is supposed to have computers because we are in a jet age and almost everything we do need the computer. So, the government should try to equip the school with computers and many other things needed for standard education.”

On his part, Senator Ebikeme, the Vice Chairman of the community, said that though the Commissioner of Education of the state and also in the last Town Hall meeting with the Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State when he came to see the state of the school promised to act immediately. But till date nothing has been done, “they should come and fulfill their promises. The students are suffering. They come with numerous campaign promises but fulfill none.

“Anybody who is in charge of the project should get started now that the students are on holidays.”

An ex-agitator, General Preye Ekpebide, whom the contract was said to be awarded to, while speaking with GbaramatuVoice on phone said that “we are mobilizing and in the next two weeks we will come to renovate the classrooms.”

He further stated that “the House of Assembly has put the library and laboratory as part of a constituency project and any moment from now they will come and do a lot of work there.”

By Gertrude Boatman

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