The authorities of the Rivers State Universal Basic Education Board (RSUBEB), have described as untrue and malicious media reports which alleged that the students of Community Junior Secondary School, Olanada on Rumuola Road, Port Harcourt, last Monday, staged a peaceful protest over alleged ‘inadequate teachers in their school’.
The board, in a statement signed by the Director of Administration and Supplies/Public Relations, Karibi George, said the action became necessary to set the record straight and correct the erroneous media reports being peddled in the state and in the social media.
The statement reads, “The board wishes to inform the general public, especially parents and guardians of pupils of Community (Junior) Secondary School, Olanada, Port Harcourt, that the pupils of the school did not embark on any protest on Monday or any other day as speculated”, adding that the story was untrue and a figment of the imagination of the reporter.
According to the statement, the pupils of the school were in school writing their terminal examinations on the fateful day the alleged protest took place, saying that CSS, Olanada as a model school, has adequate staff with 82 specialist subject teachers.
“On the day of the alleged protest, virtually all the teachers were in school, while the principal and a few others were attending a training programme organized by the board in conjunction with the National Institute for Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), Ondo and the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Abuja.”
“CSS, Olanada has a newly constructed block of classrooms and staff rooms. It is a school with water and sanitation facilities serviced by a functional standby generator, and it is, therefore, highly unlikely that such a school could ever be without water for washing of hands.”