The Sole Administrator of the Rivers State Waste Management Agency (RIWAMA), Bro. Felix Obuah, has called on school authorities, pupils and students of primary, secondary and tertiary institutions in the state to key into the Operation Keep Rivers State Clean crusade by ensuring that their environments are kept clean and tidy.
Bro. Obuah, who gave the charge a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Jerry Needam, said the agency was becoming increasingly worried at the level of dirtiness in most schools across the state.
He said the situation called for concern, especially as routine inspection by the agency showed that the schools were alarmingly unkempt.
He lamented the habit of dumping waste indiscriminately in and around the school environment, calling on students and pupils to bag and properly dispose waste at government-approved receptacles and designated points in the schools.
Obuah also pointed at some schools which had been overgrown with weeds, wondering why school authorities would not engage pupils and students to regularly weed out overgrown grasses, as part of physical exercises, which also form an essential part of the school curriculum.
The RIWAMA boss advocated the establishment of sanitation clubs in schools across the state to groom students on the tenets of safe and clean habits, noting that such early exposure would instill in them a culture of cleanliness for the benefit of the larger society.
The sole administrator also reminded both authorities and students of the various academic institutions that as important landmark which attract visitors to the State, they should ensure the schools are kept clean and tidy at all times.
Obuah further charged them to regularly clean their schools and environment, adding that by so doing, they would be reciprocating the good gestures of Governor Nyesom Wike, who is working tirelessly to transform the educational sector and ensure a clean and safe environment in the state.