[A Must See] Secondary School Where Reptiles Learn With Students In Ibadan

Penultimate week, it was a long, big snake that was killed inside the school premises by the students. A week after, the students were seen writing their promotional examinations on bare floor. SEYI SOKOYA, who witnessed the two unpleasant scenarios among others, at the Urban Day Grammar School, Ibadan, Oyo State, reports.

THE name of the school is Urban Day Grammar School, but what was witnessed in the last two weeks were far from being urban in nature. Infact, situations in rural areas are far better that what was witnessed.
Findings by the Sunday Tribune indicated that killing of reptiles in the school is a weekly affair. Some residents in the area stated that what was news in the school is when a week passed without sighting snakes or other dangerous reptiles in the school premises, that unusual romance with reptiles is the norm in the school.
The academic environment, no doubt, is in a sorry state, just as the pupils had been subjected to environmental hazards, threat to life all in the quest to get quality education.
At Urban Day Grammar School, there is no fence, no gate and no good structures. The roof of the principal’s office is a big drain. The multi-purpose hall in the compound is surrounded by bush. Ditto the toilet. There is an abandoned red block of six classrooms said to have been built by the late Chief Bola Ige’s administration. The library, the Home Economics laboratory and all other classrooms were all begging for attention.
It was observed that virtually all the classrooms that are habitable in the school have no chairs and desks. This, perhaps, informed the decision of the students to find an alternative since their promotional examinations were on.
The students, mostly Senior Secondary School (SSS 1 and 11), were seen writing their examinations on bare floor. It was learnt that that was not the first time such would happen in the school, as some of the students told the Sunday Tribune that “this is not our first time. We are used to it. What matters most to us is to pass the examinations.’’
Sunday Tribune’s effort to interact with the principal or any other staff of the school did not yield any result, as they refused to speak or give necessary information, especially on the present state of the school. When approached, the school principal who even refused to mention her name, said: “It would be better if you speak with my employer. I have nothing to say except I have an approval from above.”
Most of the students who spoke with the Sunday Tribune could not give any reason why they should write their examinations on bare floor. All they could say was “we don’t have enough chairs in the school and we have to write our examinations.”
It was also learnt that the school had initial population of 300 registered students both at the junior and senior secondary school levels, but had been reduced to 200 students as a result of unbearable condition of the school, which, it was learnt, that forced many parents to withdraw their children.
This, it was said, could be one of the reasons the school has only six pupils in the JSS1 class.
The chairman of the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) of the school, Mr Mukaila Osuolale Adepoju, lamented the present state of the school, stressing that the school authorities, in collaboration with the PTA, had, at various times, complained to the authorities about the poor condition of the school without getting any response.

“This school was worse before I became the chairman of the PTA. We had lodged complaints about the situation of the school to the government. I was aware that the principal further wrote a letter attached with pictures of the school to the commissioner for education. They promised to come and inspect and they did not show up. This was about two years ago. We also wrote another letter last week on the same subject matter but we are yet to have their response,” he added.
Adepoju stated further that the school needed to be attended to in time so as to ameliorate the sufferings that the students are being subjected to on a daily basis. “Some students had fallen victim of molest on their way home. The school authorities have lost count of snakes they have been killed within the school premises.
“We even had a molest case at the police station. The science laboratory has been burgled three times. Aside the fact that we have been calling on the government for assistance we, as parents, have done our bit by rebuilding the damaged science laboratory and replacing the library roof. The only two classrooms that the whole students are currently using were donated by the past government.”
“It is unfortunate that the 40 chairs and tables donated by ZARTECH Company after we sought their assistance have been damaged by hoodlums. This has really caused setback for the smooth academic activities of the school and convenience of the students,” he explained.
A resident of the area, who pleaded anonymity, told Sunday Tribune that the pupils, by virtue of their present condition could be exposed to more serious heath problem.
Another resident, who spoke in the same light, expressed the fears that students who are exposed to this type of danger are likely to face severe consequences later in life.
An octogenerean whose house is close to the school maintained: “I see no reason why this school has not received the attention of the government in spite of the fact that the school is very close to Adeoyo Hospital and the Access to Basic Medical Care Foundation (ABMCF) a non-governmental organisation (NGO) powered by the wife of the state governor.”