After decades of deterioration, pupils of AME Zion Primary School, Ndon Ebom in Uruan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, have returned to renovated classrooms following a personal intervention by the state Commissioner for Internal Security and Water Resources, Gen. Koko Essien (Rtd).
The two-block, 12-classroom facility, which was commissioned on Friday, was renovated by Essien, an alumnus of the 90-year-old school, as part of his contribution to improving education and development in his community.
The intervention has now given the school, established by the AME Zion Church in 1936, a renewed learning environment after years of neglect had left its facilities in a deplorable condition.
Essien said the renovation was his personal contribution to community development and an expression of his desire to give back to the institution where he was once a pupil.
He urged the pupils to take their studies seriously, while charging the school authorities and the community to protect the renovated classrooms from vandalism and ensure their continued maintenance.
The Commissioner also disclosed that he had earlier provided a transformer to the community, expressing satisfaction that the equipment was being put to use.
Representing Governor Umo Eno at the commissioning, the Commissioner for Education, Prof. Ubong Umoh, said the intervention demonstrated how individuals could complement government’s efforts by responding directly to pressing needs in their communities.
He urged other well-to-do indigenes of the state to identify critical needs in their communities and deploy their resources to addressing them, rather than leaving every development responsibility to government.
Governor Eno, according to his representative, commended Essien for investing in the school and supporting his administration’s ARISE Agenda through the provision of a more conducive environment for learning.
The Headmistress, Mrs Lucy Edet, thanked Essien for the intervention and pledged that the school would ensure the facility was properly utilised for the benefit of pupils and teachers.
The Village Head of Ndon Ebom, Chief Augustine Effiong, described the project as evidence that Essien had not forgotten his roots, commending him for responding to the needs of the community.
Effiong also thanked Governor Eno for appointing Essien into his cabinet and assured that the community had accepted responsibility for protecting the facility.
In a further boost to the school, the Dean of Commissioners and Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mkpisong Frank Archibong, announced that the College of Commissioners would provide a solar-powered borehole for the institution.
The Chairman of Uruan Local Government Area, Surv. Iniobong Ekpenyong, and the member representing Uruan State Constituency in the State House of Assembly, Dr Itoro Etim, also commended Essien for the intervention and the transformation of the school’s learning environment.
