Inside Abia College of Education

 
 “The road is abominable. That is if we insist on calling what is essentially a dangerous stretch of treacherous undulations, massive pot (man) holes and sun¬dry dangers a road.
As you ‘drive’ on this road of questionable impact on the life of the people in the area, you can see those who are trekking beside your car briskly overtake you. Meanwhile, you are inside a powerful rough terrain vehicle and they are not. And those who ply this no-road every day are Nigerians who have as much right to tolerable social infrastructure as anyone else. Some mischievous observers who try to laugh it off by pointing to the well-known Igbo saying that there is no short distance to Arochukwu forget to add that the adage speaks of distance, not that there is no way of getting to Arochukwu at all.
“One thing is for sure today: whoever sets out for Arochukwu hoping for a leisurely ride may well need to put his ancestors on notice that he may join them at short notice. Those who brag about using ‘jeep’ to travel to Arochukwu should know that the fundamentally alarming fact that one may be tossed right out of one’s vehicle as it navigates the terrain. My experience during a recent visit to honour an invitation to Arochukwu came dangerously close to the above narrative”, this was part of the narrative of Okey Ikechukwu after a recent trip to Arochukwu in Abia State.
Ikechukwu had added that if one has back-ache, one should procure the services of an undertaker or a wheel chair before setting out for Arochukwu because one may need one or the other.
Indeed, going to Arochukwu is like a jour¬ney through the valley of the shadow of death or, better still, a suicide mission. It is akin to a journey to Golgotta. And woe betide you if it rained before or during the trip as vehicles are often trapped in the craters that dot the 29 kilometre Arochukwu – Ohafia road.
The worst part is found after the 14 Brigade Barracks at Ohafia. Ordinarily, it shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes to drive from Ohafia to Arochukwu but because of the deplorable condition of the road, it takes anything from two hours.
College in ruins
Another ugly sight welcomes you at the Abia State College of Education (Technical), Arochukwu (ASCETA) as the buildings there are crumbling. Most of the buildings have bro¬ken roofs, windows, floors and doors. Abandoned vehicles and overgrown weeds litter the premises, painting the picture of a junk yard.
Investigations also revealed that the institu¬tion is grossly inadequate in terms of requisite teaching and learning equipment as well as examination materials. The school also lacks functional conveniences for staff and students. So, to conveniently answer the call of nature, the bush becomes a better alternative.
But for the staff, the decrepit state of facilities is a small matter, so to say. For them, the biggest challenge is the non-payment of salaries and general poor condition of service. As one of the lecturers put it, “we teach on credit. They pay us when they like. You are never sure of when you will get the next salary.”
Offering perspectives on the “teaching on credit” policy of the institution, an official of the academic staff union, who did not want his name in print, said: “We are really suffering in this school as our salaries are not paid as and when due. We are being owed five months salary this year and if you add this November, it comes to six months. Can you imagine that we are working and not getting paid? It has become a herculean task taking care of our families. Even the things our colleagues take for granted elsewhere is a mirage to us. As the year is coming to an end and people are pre¬paring for the festivities, we have nothing to offer our families because we are not getting our salaries. It is as bad as that. So, one can say that we teach on credit.”
Another staffer further disclosed that apart from the five months outstanding salary this year, they were still being owed salary for August last year. “We are living from hand to mouth; we are being treated like slaves. We are living in misery. Worse still, we are subjected to high-handedness and witch-hunting. If you complain, you may run into trouble,” he volunteered.
SOS
Against the backdrop of the deplorable state of affairs in the institution, the Staff Unions Representatives of ASCETA have appealed to the state government to take “prompt action to salvage us from this ugly condition which has led to risking and mortgaging of the future of our students/youths, suffering and death of many staff as well as stagnation and reversal of development of the college.”
The Save-Our-Soul petition, which was signed by the Chairman of Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), ASCETA chapter, Comrade J. K. Ugbuta and NASU chairman, Comrade D.O. Nwosu, also decried the “denial of staff promotions, non-financial implementation of promotions since 2008, non-confirmation of staff who are due, withholding of staff statutory entitlements and wrongful retirement of many staff without regard to the nationally approved policy on age (National Assembly Act 2012).”
The SOS further lamented that there are “numerous cases of victimization of staff and high-handedness such as wrongful dismissals, suspensions, surcharges and withholding of whole salaries for expression of opinions, performance of union duties and trumped-up charges. Disparity in real terms of salary given to staff on the same rank in different banks and other forms of divide and rule practices.”
It also frowned at the “indiscriminate in¬creases in school fees and imposition of levies as well as non-provision of necessary facilities for students, thereby scaring them away and presently drastically lowering the whole students population of the college to less than 1000 (both NCE and B.Ed Years 1, 11 and B.Ed Year V put together this session 2013/2014)” as well as the “proliferation of study centres (currently about 25 of them), bastardization of academic standards and embezzlement of fund accruing from the centres.”
It further noted: “All workers unions are intimidated into fear and silence and indirectly banned. Union dues deducted from workers’ salaries are not remitted to the unions for over two years now. Taxes and rates deducted from staff salaries are not remitted to the government agencies hence staff cannot get tax receipts and clearances from Board of Internal Revenue since 2009. There is non-remittance of staff welfare scheme loan payments deduct¬ed from staff salaries amounting to over N80 million to the appropriate banks.”
It was also gathered that ASCETA is heavily indebted to banks and filling stations, which supply diesel to the school even as vehicles be-longing to the college, including a Hillux van given a few months ago by Tetfund have vanished. Sources further alleged that nine guns bought for the security men in the college were recently taken away by a top shot of the col¬lege.
Further still, it was learnt that two top officials said to be neck deep in the financial mess of the institution have not gone on leave since they assumed their respective positions more than four years ago. “If these people are allowed to remain in office, the corruption and fraud in the college will not be exposed. At least, they should be made to go on leave so that an independent body will look into the books,” a lecturer demanded.



Sun Report by Henry Umahi [email protected]