The Ekiti State government has relocated pupils of Saint Peter’s Primary School, Igbemo Ekiti, Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government Area of Ekiti State, following the fire incident that destroyed the school classrooms.
The building, comprising a five-block classroom structure, was completely razed when a thunderstrike reportedly ignited a destructive fire during a stormy downpour that lasted over an hour.
The state governor, Biodun Oyebanji, lamented the dislodgement of pupils of the affected school from their original base, promising to rebuild the destroyed structure so the pupils can return without delay.
He commended the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) for promptly relocating the pupils and expressed joy that no students died in the incident.
Speaking in Igbemo Ekiti, Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government Area, while inspecting the affected school, Oyebanji promised that the structure razed will be rebuilt in due course, so that the pupils and teachers can breathe a sigh of relief after the fire incident.
The governor, represented by the Deputy Governor, Chief Monisade Afuye, while briefing the teachers and the SUBEB management team, said he was enthralled by how the pupils were promptly relocated to a contiguous AUD Pilot Nursery and Primary School to continue their learning.
According to him, “I am saddened by this fire incident caused by a mysterious thunder strike. Though, the structure had been burnt down, but we are happy that no life was lost, because it happened when the pupils and teachers were at home.
“Most interesting to me was the way you immediately relocated the pupils to a nearby school. This showed the commitment of SUBEB to the academic growth of these pupils and the need for them to be at par with their colleagues in other schools.
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“We are assuring you that the structure shall be rebuilt back to normal shape so that the pupils and teachers can return to their original school in no distant time.”
Sequel to complaints by the teachers of AUD Pilot Nursery and Primary School over how some residents of the area were piling refuse and defecating within the school premises, Oyebanji ordered that such unhealthy practices should be halted with immediate effect.
The governor expressed concern that allowing such activities to continue could predispose the pupils to infectious diseases that could be injurious to their lives and that of the teachers.
Commending the government over the visit, the Education Secretary, Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government Area, Mrs Adesola George-Ojo, said completion of the perimeter fencing around the school will help stem the tide of open defecation within the school.
Mrs George-Ojo added that the school had been battling such unwholesome acts for ages, and that the time to stop such unhygienic practices is now to avert the outbreak of lethal diseases within the school and the community at large.
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