By Precious Uti
Primary and secondary school students across parts of Delta State on Monday resumed for the 2025/2026 academic session to meet vandalised classrooms, leaking roofs, inadequate desks and unkempt school environments.
A monitoring visit by Niger Delta Today to public schools in Uvwie, Udu and Warri South Local Government Areas revealed varying degrees of infrastructural decay, with some classrooms and staff offices left without functional doors, windows, ceilings and other basic facilities.
At Ogbe Secondary School, near the remodelled Effurun Roundabout, the school field and parts of the classrooms were overgrown and unkempt, while available desks appeared inadequate for returning students.
The roof of one of the classroom blocks was also observed to be leaking, with some desks vandalised.
The situation was similar at Igbudu Secondary School, Warri, where part of the school premises was flooded, while some classrooms were in poor condition and desks were inadequate.
At Nana Model College, Warri, the situation was different, as the school environment appeared ready for academic activities.
At Ovwian Secondary School, Ovwian, Udu LGA, some school buildings were found with leaking roofs and vandalised classrooms, while weeds had taken over parts of the premises.
Ekete Primary School, Ekete Inland, Udu, also faced inadequate desks, with pupils lamenting the difficulty of securing seats during lessons.
At Ugbomro Secondary School, Effurun, Uvwie LGA, students returned to classrooms where several vandalised facilities had yet to be repaired.
A JSS3 student, Joella, said the number of desks available was grossly inadequate for the students in her class.
“We are 130 students in a class with limited desks, leaving other students with no seat to sit on the window and the floor.
“Sometimes, more than four students will have to share a seat but it will still leave the rest sitting on the window and floor,” she said.
Joella also complained about the absence of a proper writing board, saying tiles were being used in place of a standard board.
“We had most of these facilities until they were vandalised but have not been repaired. All we want is for the school to get renovated with abandoned buildings continued,” she added.
Another student, Excel, corroborated the complaints, saying the school lacked functional doors and windows, making the premises vulnerable to further vandalism.
“We do not have doors and windows, leaving the school open for vandalism. We also do not have toilets for students, which make us use the bushes, making us susceptible to snake bites,” she said.
According to her, the school also lost its water supply after the pumping machine was stolen.
“We used to have water in the school until the pumping machine was stolen. Now we use water from the closest car wash,” Excel said.
She appealed to the government to provide functional toilets and renovate the school.
A JSS2 student said he was forced to return home whenever he needed to use the toilet, while also complaining about the condition of teachers’ offices.
He appealed for the provision of functional windows, strong doors, ceilings, electricity and fans to create a conducive learning environment.
The school’s principal, Mrs Joan, corroborated the students’ complaints, saying chairs, roofs and desks had been repeatedly vandalised, while the school environment was frequently littered.
At Ughworume Primary School, also in Uvwie LGA, the situation was said to be similar, with several roofs and classroom facilities vandalised.
A teacher, who declined to give her name, said the vandalism had rendered some classrooms unusable.
“There are cases of vandalism. Primary 3 and Nursery 2 classes were vandalised with the boards taken away. Most classrooms are leaking, so we had to pair classes,” she said.
She added that the school lacked sufficient learning desks, including desks for teachers, while the absence of toilets and water was creating serious challenges.
“We also do not have toilets and water. Whenever the teachers are pressed, they usually go out, pay money to relieve themselves, but the pupils mess up the environment because there is no toilet for them to use,” she said.
She called for improved security, particularly at night, to protect school facilities from vandals.
“The government provided security for only the day. Night guards should be made available to protect the school property if the school ever gets fixed,” she added.
Another teacher in the school said the theft of the pumping machine had also rendered the school toilet unusable.
She said three classrooms were no longer in use because of vandalism, forcing the school to merge classes.
“The roof to my office was also removed, which led to water entering the office. The government should provide night security to watch over their school while we are away,” he said.
He further appealed for urgent intervention, stressing that the problem was not peculiar to her school.
“It is not only this school; most public schools face worse than what we face here,” she said.
