The Michael Okpara Auditorium Umuahia, the Abia state capital, was filled to the brim last Friday as the state governor, Chief Theodore Orji, handed over 19 secondary schools taken over by the defunct East Central State government shortly after the civil war ended in 1970, to their former owners.
Before the Nigeria – Biafra war, education in the then Eastern Nigeria was mainly in the hands of missionaries and private individuals, then regarded as voluntary agencies. The government on its part had fewer schools which served as model schools. The then Eastern Regional government, however, gave subventions to proprietors of the missionary and individual schools to assist them run the schools. This generated a healthy competition between them as public and missionary schools tried to excel above the other.
Governor Orji said that the decision to hand over the schools to their rightful owners followed about 30 years of sustained agitation by? churches? and? private individuals that? owned them? that their schools taken over by the military government about 1970 be returned to them. He said that in 2010, in response to the pressure, government agreed in principle to return the schools and therefore, set up a committee to work out modalities for a smooth transfer of the schools. After accepting the report of the committee, it was sent to the state house of assembly, which gave it a legal for a legal backing following the enactment of “Abia State Education Return Of School law no 5 of 2011.”
Speaking in Umuahia at the official handing g over of the schools, Orji said that more schools would be handed over to their owners in another phase,?? and called on the beneficiaries to appreciate the good gesture by living up to the expectation of the people and government.
He assured that teachers would retain their conditions of service as their counterparts in government schools until such a time a review might become necessary, assuring that those who would want to transfer to public schools were free do so.? He said the return of schools would be extended t o primary schools during the next phase of the exercise
The handover of the schools were not without pre- conditions.? They included that government would monitor the schools within the one year probationary period to enable it asses their performances.? Under the arrangement, the government agreed to continue to pay the salaries? of the teachers for 2012 to 2013 academic year,? and thereafter review the conditions of the final handing over of the schools to their owners. Also, teachers and non -teaching staff are to remain in their respective schools and the conditions of their service would remain the same until further notice.
According to the arrangement, proprietors of the affected private schools, may wish to replace the principals of their schools but would be responsible for payment of their salaries.? In such circumstance, the ministry of education is required to post such principals to the public schools where their services are required.
The ministry of education is as well empowered to post students who may desire to change schools for whatever reason. And in other to provide logistics support, fees payable by students should not exceed N5000 per term.The government is to provide grants to the proprietors but such grants will take immediate effect? because of the state’s lean resources,? while? the proprietors would be responsible for the maintenance? of physical facilities.
The commissioner of education?? Dr Monica Philips, said that the legal teeth given the handover of schools, was to ensure the sincerity? of the government, while the Catholic Bishop of? Umuahia? Diocese ,Bishop Lucius Ugorji,? commended the state? government for the bold initiative in handing over? schools to their original owners, after 40 years of foot-dragging.
He revealed that the defunct East Central state government, took over missionaries schools to punish the church for frustrating the Yakubu Gowon-led government policy of “hunger being a legitimate instrument of warfare” against Biafrans.? He said the church had through such organisations like CARITAS and Red Cross? provided relief materials?? mostly in the form of food and medicine to suffering Biafran population, mainly women and children.
He added, “I recall that at the end of the war, the federal government had a policy of no victor no vanquished.?? This was followed by the three R’s of Reconciliation, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction, and surprisingly, shortly after, church owned schools were forcefully taken over by the federal government in the East central state.
“At that time, it was seen by many that it was a way of punishing the churches for supplying relief materials to the war affected areas. Bishops and other? Church leaders had over the decades made representations to the succeeding governments that were in the then East central state for the schools to be returned but? today history is being made as the Abia state government? under Chief Theodore has under taken to do what governments before him could not do. We want to assure Abians that we will restore the schools to their lost glory and bring back discipline and good morals in the schools.”
The enthusiasm of the missions to take back their schools was captured by the reaction of the church groups who had already raised funds to commence the rehabilitation of the returned schools. For instance, The Adventist Church said it has earmarked N100 million to rehabilitate Ihie High School, which one of its old students said was in a pitiable state.
An old boy of Nbawsi Grammar grammar School Nbawsi,?? Mr Cyril Nwachukwu, said the loss incurred by the proprietor of the?? school, the Anglican Church was unquantifiable as facilities in the school had completely deteriorated.? He said? the school had in the past 10 years been kept alive through the support of the old boys who at one time employed? teachers in the core subjects such as mathematics, physics and biology, as? none of the subject teachers was posted by then state government.
Mr Nwachukwu who is the secretary of? the Grammar? school Old Boys Association, Aba branch?? said the national association? last December raised over N 6million for the rehabilitation of the broken down facilities, adding? that the return of the?? school to the mission has? ended the embarrassment which the association suffered? any time the 51 year old school was officially called community Secondary school, Nbawsi , the name given it by the government that forcefully? took it over? in 1970,
Not a few say that the performances of these schools in the next West African School Certificate Examination, WASCE, and the NECO examination, would serve as a barometer for measuring whether schools are better managed by the government or missionaries/individuals.
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