The future of hundreds of children in the Obite community, located within the Etche Local Government Area (LGA) of Rivers State, currently hangs in the balance.
For over ten years, the Obite Community Primary School has sat in a state of total abandonment, forcing local youth out of classrooms and into early labor or dangerous commutes.
A Decade of Decay and Educational Paralysis
The structural integrity of the school has withered away after ten years of neglect, leaving the facility a ghost of its former self. Once a pillar of the community, the school is now a symbol of the widening gap in educational equity. For families in Etche LGA, the lack of a functional public school is not just an inconvenience it is a systemic barrier to breaking the cycle of poverty.
With the primary facility out of commission, the community has been split into those who can afford an alternative and those who cannot. Those left behind are facing a bleak reality where education is no longer a right, but an unreachable luxury.
Farms, Trades, and Dangerous Commutes
The human cost of this decade-long abandonment is staggering. According to reports from Tracka, a public expenditure tracking organization, children whose parents cannot afford the high costs of private education are being diverted from academic paths. Instead of attending classes, these children are heading to farms or being enrolled in apprenticeship trades prematurely.
For the parents determined to secure an education for their children, the alternatives are grueling. Many have been forced to send their children to neighboring communities. This decision subjects young children to hours of daily travel, often on foot or via unreliable transport, just to sit in a classroom.
Advocates Call for Urgent Government Intervention
The situation has sparked a wave of advocacy aimed at the Rivers State Government. In a public appeal for transparency and development, Tracka called upon Governor Siminalayi Fubara, along with Hon. Kelechi Nwogu and Hon. Chima Boniface Njoku, to take immediate action to restore the facility.
Share this“The children of Obite community deserve access to quality education. We ask that you prioritize the reconstruction of this school,” stated Tracka.
