By Samuel Ogenyi, Uyo
As exit students return to Schools in Akwa Ibom, there remained the danger posed by bushy school environment as most of the schools in the state are yet to be cleaned up in readiness for a academic programmes.
This is even after the state government has said it would decontaminate and clean up the schools to make them habitable for students.
A visit to some of the schools revealed that many have not be readied for school resumption with tall grasses growing in them with just few clean enough for safe academic programme.
Snakes, and other reptiles are battling for space in most of the government owned Secondary schools following the five months forced closure prompted by the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic.
With most of them day schools, there has been no human presence in most of the facilities except locals and security men with the attendant result that most of them have become quite dirty and overgrown with bushes.
The schools were not fumigated before resumption as directed by the Ministry of Education and teachers were not trained on how to teach and relate in the wake of Covid-19..
For instance in Community Secondary Grammar School , Ikot Essien in Ibesikpo Asutan local government area, media report say the principal Mrs Enobong Usungurua is said to have killed two snakes in her office as she resumed duty for Senior Secondary Three students who are preparing for West African Examination Council exams .
At Cornelia Conelly College, Uyo only the football field and areas around the School hall where the SS3 students receive lectures and the part of the dormitory where they reside that have been cleared.
It was however observed that the School only provided water without soap for students to decontaminate themselves.
At Ukpaubong Community Secondary School, Itam in Itu local government area, pupils used the entire last week, one of the two weeks meant for revision before writing the West African School Certificate Examination to cut grasses in parts of the school around classrooms and administrative block.
Schools like Government Technical School, Mbioto in Etinan local government area and Comprehensive Secondary School, Ikot Akpa Etok/Ediam among others were not given thermometers on the ground that their population were below 1500 pupils.
Schools were given large plastic buckets by the ministry for hand washing as well as liquid soap while sanitizers were not made available.
With the state of affairs observers believe that the health and lives of students are being put at risk as the general outlook showed a lack of preparedness by the state government for resumption of schools.
Meanwhile the state Commissioner for Education, Dr Enobong Mbobo has bemoaned the lack of conformity to the COVID 19 protocols by students stressing that schools could be shut down if these protocols are not observed.
Mbobo who visited Ikono Ibom Comprehensive School Ikot Anyan Ikono and Community Secondary Commercial School, Ikot Oku Ikono also expressed disappointment that some of the students have no desks or chairs for their lessons.
