Concerned indigenes of Enugwu-Agidi Community, in the Njikoka Local Government Area (LGA) of Anambra, have invested N31.5 million in the education development of the community under the group called the Educate Enugwu-Agidi Committee (EEAC).
The National Coordinator of EEAC, Dr. Chinedu Ikeanyi, stated during the unveiling of the newly renovated and remodeled Mrs. Mary Okam Laboratory Complex at the Community Secondary School (CSS) Enugwu Agidi that the initiative aims to ensure that secondary schools have modern, functional science laboratories.
The Laboratory Complex houses a set of equipment for biology, chemistry, physics, and information and communication technology (ICT).
Ikeanyi, represented by the Project Director of EEAC, Engr Victor Onwudinjo, explained that the fund was raised at CSS and Government Technical College (GTC) by generous indigenes both at home and in the diaspora for the purpose of developing functional education in the town.
According to Onwudinjo, the aim of EEAC is to stop the current practice of community school-age children traveling to neighboring towns for education.
“Our parents built the community schools out of their personal efforts in 1977, and we enjoyed a good learning environment with basic tutorial facilities.
“The schools are now dilapidated, forcing children from the community to attend nearby schools in Amawbia or Awka simply because there are no functional science laboratories at Enugwu-Agidi schools.
“In this era of emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), EEAC is committed to ensuring that both secondary schools have modern, functional science laboratories.
“Our mission is to restore the lost glory of educational growth associated with the community and improve education in line with Gov. Charles Soludo’s charge to school principals to rally people in their areas for project development in the education sector.
“EEAC answered the government’s call for well-to-do individuals in the state’s communities to join hands in shaping the future of the younger generations for lasting legacies in the education sector,” Onwudinjo said.
Onwudinjo mentioned that apart from the laboratory complex, there was a groundbreaking ceremony for a new six-bedroom Corps Lodge, which, upon completion, will provide six self-contained bedrooms for youth corps members posted to the schools.
He listed other members of the EEAC, including Ozo Nnamdi Okam, Chief Nnoli Okoye, Chief Sunny Okoye, Mrs. Angela Aguolu, Evang. Mrs. Irene Nwachukwu, Dr. Chisom Nwaneki, and Mr. Ebuka Okeke (Teacher/School Representative).
He also named some associate members and donors, including Chief Innocent Obiorah, Mr. Chuks Nwodili, Dr. Samuel Anameze, Chief Osita Nwanisiobi, Chief Clem Aguiyi, and Chief Emeka Onuorah.
According to Onwudinjo, Obiorah single-handedly funded the rehabilitation of two classrooms in a six-classroom block at GTC Enugwu-Agidi, in partnership with ASUBEB.
“The total cost for rehabilitating the Laboratories Complex at Community Secondary School, Enugwu-Agidi, is about N25 million, while the cost for rehabilitating the two classrooms in the six-classroom block at GTC, Enugwu-Agidi, is N6.5 million.
“The N6.5m is for our counterpart funding with ASUBEB in the rehabilitation of 6-Classrooms block at Government Technical School, Enugwu-Agidi. Where we provided fund to the ASUBEB Contractor to cover for works in two classrooms of the 6-Classrooms block.
The approximately N25m was the cost for the rehabilitation and furnishing of the Mrs. Mary Okam Laboratory Complex at Community Secondary School, Enugwu-Agidi (which was commissioned yesterday), and for the Toilet and Kitchen, which we added to the Gatehouse that ASUBEB rehabilitated.
“With the help of the Enugwu-Agidi Brotherly Union (EBU) National Executive Committee, who started the rehabilitation work by constructing the wooden roof truss but got stuck for over a year before EEAC took over and completed the work.
“The steel doors and windows were installed by the EBU NEC after EEAC fabricated theirs, some of which were later used in the ASUBEB-rehabilitated five-classroom block in the school,” he said.
He commended all the donors and appealed to other wealthy individuals in the community to join hands in the vision of providing sound and functional education for children. He also disclosed that EEAC is a subsidiary of the Matrons and Patrons Club of CSS and GTC Enugwu-Agidi.
Onwudinjo stated that the committee was formed by both principals of CSS Enugwu-Agidi, Mrs. Ekwy-Teckla Azubuike, and her counterpart, Mrs. Lip Ogbobe, principal of GTC Enugwu-Agidi, in response to Soludo’s charge to the principals.
He said the goal of EEAC is to eradicate illiteracy in Enugwu-Agidi by ensuring that every child of secondary school age has access to quality education within Enugwu-Agidi.
Earlier, in her address, the Anambra Commissioner for Education, Prof. Ngozi Chuma-Udeh, stated that when progressivism is embraced by a community, better results are inevitable.
Chuma-Udeh noted that while Soludo inherited schools without teachers and in poor condition, his commitment to repositioning the education sector in the state is unwavering.
According to her, these projects are testimonies that the government-public-private community partnership model is working, and she thanked the people of Enugwu-Agidi for their commitment to the future of their children.
The commissioner disclosed that the governor has declared free education and canceled all fees and levies in public schools in the state, advising principals to adhere to these directives.
Principal of CSS Enugwu-Agidi, Mrs. Ekwy-Teckla Azubuike, described the projects as a remarkable achievement, recalling the dilapidated state of the structures when she took office and the efforts made to improve them.
She emphasized that the laboratory complex will enhance effective teaching and learning in related subjects.
Azubuike commended the governor for his robust ideas in the education sector and appealed for more security officers to be assigned to the school due to security challenges in the area.
The Traditional Ruler of Enugwu-Agidi, Igwe Michael Okekeuche, appealed to the government to support the community’s efforts by erecting a perimeter fence at GTC and ensuring student enrollment in the school.
Okekeuche stated that the community is doing its best and urged the government to provide basic amenities to support them.
He recalled incidents involving herdsmen in the school due to the lack of a perimeter fence and fire incidents that damaged old laboratories, calling for greater government assistance to help reposition the school.
The event was attended by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Mrs. Ifeoma Agbaizu, member of PPSSC, Awka zone, Dr. Mrs. Uche Okeke, among others, and featured cultural dances by students of the school.
