By Izunna Okafor, Awka
The Anambra State Commissioner for Education, Prof. Ngozi Chuma-Udeh has restated that the state government has zero tolerance for any action that can put the lives of school children in the State in danger.
This was contained in a statement issued by the Public Relations Officer of the State Ministry of Education, Mr. Nnaemeka Egwuonwu, who said the Commissioner gave the reassurance in Awka, the State capital.
According to Mr. Egwuonwu, Commissioner Chuma-Udeh gave the warning while addressing the Committee of Inquiry constituted by the State Government to investigate the distressing incident involving grievous bodily harm inflicted on a two-year-old pupil, Davida Ifechukwu Egbuniwe, at Blessed Wisdom Model School, Housing Estate GRA Onitsha.
The press statement read in part: “The State Government had constituted the Committee following a petition on the matter.
“Prof. Chuma-Udeh bemoaned the school’s management for the negligence and carelessness that resulted to the bodily injury on the two year old child, who went to the school and came home battered.
“The Commissioner expressed shock at the report that for over three months, the management of the school could not even reach out to the parents to ascertain the welfare of the child, instead they resorted to mischievous presentations of all sorts of falsehood through the media, for the purpose of deceiving members of the public. “We are for justice, equity and fairness, nothing can stop us from getting to the root of this matter,” Prof. Chuma-Udeh reiterated.
“In their separate reactions, the grandparents of the injured child, High Chief A.A. Anagu and his wife Oby, had expressed displeasure at the unconcerned attitude of the school management towards the welfare of their grandchild, who was placed at the care of the school. They regretted the sleeplessness nights they were passing through, following the excruciating pains being experienced by their grandchild, who went to school and came home with broken humerus.
“According to the grandmother, Mrs Oby Anagu, the Class teacher, Ekpera Onyinye had informed her on the day of the injury, a book shelf which fell on the child resulted to the broken humerus.
“However, the management of the school, speaking through the Proprietor, Mrs. Ugomma Nkamigbo and the Class teacher, Ekpera Onyinye stated that they did all that was humanly possible to get the child treated. According to the class teacher, the child was playing when she fell down and got her humerus broken.
“Counsels to the complaints and school’s management, Barr. Anagu and Barr. Chinenye respectively, opined that a show of remorse from the school’s management could have placated the injured family and pave the way for amicable settlement of the matter.”
