Ayakoromo Grammar School in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State, the once-proud citadel of learning has become a haunting symbol of neglect and decay, writes Correspondent Simon Utebor.
Education is universally acknowledged as the heartbeat of development and the engine that drives societal progress. Yet, at Ayakoromo Grammar School, this noble ideal lies in ruins—buried beneath collapsing walls, broken roofs, abandoned classrooms, and a system that appears to have forgotten the children it was meant to serve.
Located in Ayakoromo community, Burutu Local Government Area of oil-rich Delta State, the once-proud citadel of learning has become a haunting symbol of neglect and decay.
A visibly disturbed community stakeholder, Mr. Police Patani, has raised a passionate alarm, calling on government at all levels to urgently intervene and rescue the school from total collapse before lives are lost and futures permanently damaged.
According to Patani, the condition of the school is nothing short of terrifying. Classroom walls have crumbled and cracked beyond repair, roofs hang precariously with broken sheets, and the structures—meant to shelter young minds—now threaten to crush them.
“The classrooms are death traps,” he lamented. “Any day, a roof or wall could give way while students are inside.”
Inside these classrooms, the situation is equally distressing. Floors are split open, doors are battered, and desks and chairs have been eaten away by wood ants.
Many students, he said, are left with no choice but to sit on bare floors during lessons—exposed to cold, radiation, and severe health risks—while trying to pursue their dreams against all odds.
Outside, the school environment paints an even darker picture. The premises are overrun by thick weeds, resembling a forest rather than a place of learning. The unchecked vegetation has turned the school into a haven for rodents, snakes, and other dangerous reptiles, placing students in constant fear.
But beyond the physical decay lies an even deeper crisis—the collapse of academic discipline.
Patani alleged that several teachers have abandoned their duty posts for months, exploiting weak supervision from education authorities.
He accused them of traveling without approval, sneaking out of their stations, and leaving students without instruction or guidance.
“This is nothing but gross dereliction of duty,” he said. “Students are abandoned, classrooms are empty, and learning has come to a standstill.”
The consequences, he noted, are glaring. Students of Ayakoromo Grammar School are increasingly left untaught and unattended to, leading to dismal academic outcomes.
Patani linked the situation directly to the school’s consistently poor performance in recent West African Examinations Council (WAEC) results.
He recalled with sadness that the school was once a beacon of academic excellence, producing students with outstanding results and strong moral grounding.
“Today,” he lamented, “that proud legacy has been reduced to rubble.”
Patani urged community leaders, parents, and stakeholders to rise in defence of their children by closely monitoring teachers’ attendance and reporting absenteeism to the appropriate authorities.
He further appealed to the Delta State Government, Burutu Local Government Area, and relevant education agencies to act swiftly and decisively to rehabilitate, remodel, and restore Ayakoromo Grammar School.
“The future of our children is bleeding,” Patani warned. “If nothing is done now, we will be destroying generations yet unborn.”
Calling for immediate action, he stressed that timely intervention would not only prevent disaster but also resurrect the school to its former glory—a place of safety, excellence, and hope.
“A stitch in time saves nine,” he concluded. “Let Ayakoromo Grammar School not die in silence.”
Speaking on the grim reality, Mr. Austin Ebipade, a public affairs analyst from Ayakoromo community, said a recent visit to the school left him deeply troubled.
According to him, the learning environment is not only poor but outright unfit for human habitation, let alone education, due to the shocking state of its infrastructure.
Ebipade disclosed that classroom roofs are broken and threatening to cave in, while reading tables and chairs have deteriorated beyond use.
He said many students have been stripped of basic dignity, forced to study while sitting on bare floors—an unhealthy and demeaning condition that crushes concentration and morale.
“The situation is worse than we imagined,” he said. “Students are compelled to endure discomfort and risk their health just to attend school.”
He further revealed that both male and female students are forced to urinate and defecate in a ramshackle, zinc-built toilet that is unhygienic and degrading, a facility he described as a clear violation of human dignity. The school compound itself, he added, has been swallowed by weeds and bushes, now serving as a habitat for snakes and other dangerous crawling reptiles.
Ebipade called on the Delta State Government and Burutu Local Government Council to urgently intervene and rescue the school from total collapse. He urged authorities to take pragmatic and decisive steps to rehabilitate and remodel Ayakoromo Grammar School into a befitting citadel of learning capable of delivering quality education to the children—whom he described as the future leaders of the state and the nation.
Echoing this distress call, Mrs. Florence Amaebi, a parent and trader from the community, lamented that the school environment has become hostile to learning.
She said the deteriorating conditions have shattered students’ confidence and are gradually extinguishing their hope for a brighter future.
“Our children no longer feel motivated,” she said. “How can they dream big when the place meant to prepare them for life is falling apart?”
Mrs. Amaebi also decried the worsening issue of teacher absenteeism, alleging that some teachers rarely step into classrooms and often travel out of their duty posts without the knowledge or approval of authorities.
She described the situation as a grave disservice to both the students and the entire Ayakoromo community.
According to her, the future of the community’s children hinges on the urgent rehabilitation and total overhaul of the school.
She linked the decaying facilities and poor teaching culture to the recurring failure of students in Junior and Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations (JSSCE/SSSCE), calling the situation an educational emergency that demands immediate attention.
Adding his voice, Mr. Ikpaipa Tamarakuro, a retired teacher, described the steady collapse of Ayakoromo Grammar School as painful and unacceptable.
He warned that continued neglect of the institution would have far-reaching consequences beyond the community.
“Education and development are inseparable,” Tamarakuro said. “If government truly seeks sustainable development, it must prioritise the revitalisation of primary and secondary education. The future of our children—and by extension, the nation’s economy—depends on it.”
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A teacher in the school said the deplorable situation of the secondary school has been there for years, claiming that a lot of efforts have been made to get the authorities to do the needful
The teacher, who craved anonymity because she was not authorized to speak on the matter, implored the state government to come to their rescue before things go completely awry.
“I am begging the government of Delta State to urgently come to our assistance to rescue the school from total collapse. The situation of the school is bad and quick action is needed for it to bounce back. Because of the bad state of the situation, many of our students have been moving to other schools that are better off,” she asserted.
Efforts to speak with Commissioner for Basic Education, Mrs. Rose Ezewu, hit the brick wall as calls to her mobile phone rang out several times. Also, she did not respond to a text message sent to her phone as of the time of filling this report.
A teacher in the school said the deplorable situation of the secondary school has been there for years, claiming that a lot of efforts have been made to get the authorities to do the needful
The teacher, who craved anonymity because she was not authorized to speak on the matter, implored the state government to come to their rescue before things go completely awry.
“I am begging the government of Delta State to urgently come to our assistance to rescue the school from total collapse. The situation of the school is bad and quick action is needed for it to bounce back. Because of the bad state of the situation, many of our students have been moving to other schools that are better off,” she asserted.
Efforts to speak with Commissioner for Basic Education, Mrs. Rose Ezewu, hit the brick wall as calls to her mobile phone rang out several times. Also, she did not respond to a text message sent to her phone as of the time of filling this report.
As voices continue to rise from Ayakoromo, one message rings clear and urgent: the school cannot be allowed to decay any further without decisive action.
