…I am doing a good work says Principal
By Tejiri Ebikeme/Francis Sadhere
Some parents of Federal Government College (FGC), Warri Delta State, have called for the sack or transfer of the Principal, Mr Abiodun Fabiyi, accusing him of running down the College.
But the Principal in a swift reaction, dismissed the allegations against him, saying he was doing a very good work in the College.
When the gate of the College was thrown open on Sunday, September 18, 2016 for resumption, some of the parents said that they almost threw up, no thanks to the alleged filthy environment.
According to the parents who pleaded that their names should not be in print, the School Authorities had allegedly demanded various items, including cash from them to keep the School clean before resumption, but lamented that this was not done by the time Students returned to School September 18, 2016.
Fuming with anger, some of the parents called for the sack of the Principal, Mr Fabiyi, while others suggested that a State of Emergency should be declared on the School as according to them, the Hostels were not conducive for the Students.
A male parent told our Correspondents that at the resumption of school they discovered that the environment was not prepared for the arrival of the Students despite paying for the cleaning of the environment and the hostels.
He said he was shocked with the level of decay of infrastructures they met at the resumption of school, stressing that even slaves cannot be allowed to live in such hostels.
He lamented that despite paying for the cleaning of the school he was also asked to bring all sorts of materials to the school, including buckets of paint.
He said parents were asked to bring other items like, two rims of A4 paper, cutlasses, rake, mob, toiletries, harpic, jik, and other items (which are not given to the students to use), putting additional burden on the parents.
“What I saw in that school on the day of resumption was very appualing. There were a lot of things they asked us to bring to the school which were not included in the original paper from Abuja. The asked us to pay additional Nine Thousand, Four Hundred and Fifty Naira aside from the Fifteen Thousand Naira that we have already paid for books.
“This is to say we are paying Twenty Four Thousand Four Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira for only books. We made enquiries in several places and we discovered that we were the only people asked to pay extra for books.
“We were also asked to pay the PTA fees which the Federal Government has banned. Instead of us to pay the money to the school account, they asked us to pay the money to another account that does not belong to the school. I believe they are doing this so that they cannot be traced by the Federal Government.
“In this year’s common entrance exams, the exams were written twice. The first one they wrote in Warri was cancelled because according to them, too many students passed the exams. We were told to pay extra money to conduct another exams where some of the students were taken to Asaba and Agbor. After that exams, they later told us that the exam has been cancelled and that they were going back to the first exam they wrote. This is how we were frustrated. At the end of the day, it was only the children of rich parents who can afford to pay money that were given admission.
“What I want the Federal Government to do for us is to either close the school down or remove the principal from that school. This is not what we had in mind when we were sending our children to this school. We used to think that Federal Government colleges were the best. But with what we are seeing in Warri, we are really worried for the safety of our children. Every two weeks they used to call us parents that our children are sick.
A Female Parent while speaking to our Correspondents alleged that parents are being extorted by staff of the school as they smuggled a lot of items not on the original list into it and force parents to pay for such items.
She noted the rot in the school has been going on for ages and that parents could not complain because they do not know who to complain to.
“We as parents really wished that the media could be there to witness these things for themselves. The management of the school is extremely exploiting parents. They asked children to bring two rims of paper that they were not going to used by the children. They asked us to bring izal, jik, hypo, rake, brooms, mobs, and all other things that they will not even allow the students to use.
“For example, I have to drop six rolls of tissue paper to the school. The students will not be given these tissued. I will have to buy additional one for my child. We are even asked to bring buckets of paint that will not be used to paint the school. At the end of the day, they will dump all these things in a store and they will begin to sell them,” she said.
Other parents who spoke to our correspondents corroborated what the two respondents said, calling for the removal of the Principal.
They claimed that ever since the Principal was posted to the College, he had never called a PTA meeting where the parents will have the opportunity to air their grievances.
But contacted on telephone, the Principal, Mr. Mr Abiodun Fabiyi said, “If any parent of Federal Government College, Warri has any complain, they have direct access to me. My doors are wide open for them to come to me and tell me what their problems are. I do not see any reason why they should resort to going to press instead of coming to me. If the parents have genuine complain I do not see any reason why they cannot come to me. It is strange to me.
“The present school fee is not my making. It is the school directive. I did not add a kobo to it and if anything is not too clear they can come over and clarify things with me. It is only when you do not have direct access to the principal that you can now begin to look for other means of communication like the press. But the parents have unfettered access to my office.
“You are a parent and you should not deceive yourself. I know how I met the school when I resumed office. If the classroom is dirty and the funds are not there and we asked parents to come together and paint the classrooms of their children what is wrong with that? Am I building a house? I know how I met the school in 2012 and if I am asked to leave FGC Warri today I will thank God for what he has used me to do in that school.
“If the funds are not available can’t parent support the school to make the school look neat? Where I come from, parents do a lot to support their children’s schools. So if parents are asked to support the school, I do not think that is out of tune. When I was in school they were doing everything for us. But now, government can no longer provide these services for our children, can’t we as parents support the school to ensure that our children have good conducive environment for learning? This is my stand.
“Three days to the day of resumption, there was a heavy downpour nationwide and even the officers house was submerged. I engaged the services of two pumping machines to pump water out of the hostels. I left the school very late and we prayed that it should not rain even in the day of resumption.
“Most of these parents know that there was heavy down pour in the country and most houses were submerged. Nature has taken its course and I do not have any other way to stop it. One of the old students who saw me that day pumping water out of the hostels donated a pumping machine to the college so that we could use it to pump water out of the college. I thought that they should even come and thank us for what we have done.
“These are tough times in the nation and all of us should come on board to see what we can do by way of contribution. Criticism will take us nowhere. Let us all come together and reason together like the Bible said so that these children can turn out out well in life and for this to happen we must create a better environment for them.
These are cheap blackmail. It is because most of us have not done our own little work that is why the children are spoilt. In our university days we were cutting grass. All the brooms and rakes we asked them to bring is for the sanitation of the environment and nothing more. If you bring the broom is not to sweep my house. As far as I am concerned it is a training.
“We have to assist these children to grow up. The more difficult ones we engage the services of tractors. Train up a child in the way he should go so that when he grows up he will not depart from it. Government does not have to tell us to clean our environment on Saturdays.
“Parents should not spoil their children; they should join hand with the College to train these children very well. If you train these children they will train you in your old age. If they are not doing it at home when they come to school we will fill the gap. They should join hands with me instead of these unnecessary criticisms.
On call for his sack, the principal said; “I am ready to go on retirement. I have done 36 years of service for my nation”.
