THE Permanent Secretary, Ughelli Zone, Post-Primary Education Board, Williams Orutu, yesterday, said the board decided to shut Ekuigbo Secondary School, Ughelli, Delta State, following attacks on teachers and the destruction of property worth millions of naira by the students. Giving details of the attack, which occurred on February 16, Mr. Orutu told Vanguard that eight students of the school were apprehended by the Ekuigbo community vigilante and handed over to the police for prosecution.
He said: “Following a distress call from the school’s principal on February 16, members of the board and I rushed to the school, only to see teachers running for safety. “We saw students armed with battle axes and other dangerous weapons; they had destroyed the glass window of the school hall, pulled down a portion of the school’s fence and had cornered a team of armed vigilante group from the community brought in to calm the situation, threatening to attack them.
“We eventually calmed the situation and asked the students to resume the next day after telling them that we would redeploy the principal, who they accused of using the Ekuigbo community vigilante to punish them like criminals.” On the attacks on the teachers, Orutu said: “Unfortunately for us, upon resumption the next day, the students resumed attacks on the teachers, including two male teachers.
“To restore order and protect the lives of the teachers, we have agreed to re-admit the students and the need for every student to pay a particular amount for the damages done on the school’s property.” Speaking on behalf of the students, an SS II student, who spoke on condition of anonymity, accused the school’s management of using the Ekuigbo community vigilante to punish them like criminals, an act he said was contrary to the norms of the educational system.
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