CALABAR – The saying, ‘Education is the bedrock of the nation’ does not apply to the students of Government Secondary School Atu in Calabar, Cross River State, as over 312 students sit on the floor daily to study.
This was disclosed in a report by a civic technology platform, MonITNG, which also stated that the students use window sills to write due to a severe shortage of desks and chairs.
“We visited Government Secondary School Atu, Calabar South LGA, Cross River State and discovered that over 312 students sit on bare floors during lessons, using window sills as writing surfaces due to a severe shortage of desks, chairs, and basic learning infrastructure,” it stated.
The report also disclosed that the Senator representing Cross River Southern Senatorial District, Sen. Asuquo Ekpenyong, who is also the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), has failed to address the issue. Instead, he prioritises other irrelevant things in the name of empowerment.
“This is happening in Cross River South Senatorial District, represented by Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong, who also chairs the Senate Committee on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). Yet, no effort has been made to attract or prioritise projects that would provide desks, chairs, or classroom renovations for this school.
“Instead of addressing urgent educational needs, Senator Ekpenyong distributed 1,000 sewing and grinding machines on Friday, January 24, 2025, claiming to empower constituents. Unfortunately, reports indicate that most of these items went to party loyalists, while hundreds of students continue to learn in unsafe conditions,” part of the report stated.
The report also claimed this neglect is not new, adding, “During Governor Ben Ayade’s administration, despite budgeting ₦38 billion for education in 2020, abandoned classroom blocks at the school were never completed or renovated.
“Successive budgets under Governor Bassey Otu, ₦296.9 billion in 2024 and ₦81 billion proposed for education in 2025, still haven’t resolved these basic infrastructure gaps.”
The report, which urged Governor Otu and Senator Ekpenyong to carry out urgent intervention in the school, stated that “Cross River State has also benefited from donor interventions. UNICEF and NIEPA are helping to develop an education sector plan to eliminate out-of-school children, and Save the Children, with BIC, provided learning materials to improve enrollment. But despite all this, schools like Atu remain forgotten.
“We urge Governor Otu and Senator Ekpenyong to urgently act to provide desks, complete the abandoned classroom blocks, and restore dignity to public education.
“The future of Cross River’s children cannot be built on neglect and politics as usual.”
EXPOSED!!!
Attn,
Governor @officialspbo & Senator @A_Ekpenyong
We visited Government Secondary School Atu, Calabar South LGA, Cross River State and discovered that over 312 students sit on bare floors during lessons, using window sills as writing surfaces due to a severe… pic.twitter.com/7CgS29U71F
— MonITNG (@monitng) April 17, 2025
When contacted on Saturday regarding the report, Mr Nsa Gill, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Otu, told Converseer that the administration is working tirelessly to improve the state, adding that the government will address the issue if the report is true.
“We are an administration that is working tirelessly to overcome challenges and improve our achievements. I have personally not visited the school in question to confirm, but assuming the report is true, my response is that the government will address it.
“The government is currently undertaking the renovation and construction of buildings in many schools across the state. I’m sure the school in question is included, and attention will be given there soon. We have a responsible, people-first-oriented administration.
“The situation at that school will be different. The school is not a measure of the overall situation in the state because the Governor and the government are doing a lot to position the state at the forefront of positive references,” Gill stated in an SMS.
Meanwhile, efforts to reach Senator Ekpenyong on the phone at the time of this report proved abortive as his phone lines returned no response.