The Lagos State Government has insisted on continuous closure of Queen’s College, Lagos, where three students of the schools recently lost their lives to outbreak of diarrhea disease.
State Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris who addressed journalists yesterday after a meeting with officials of the Federal Ministry of Education and the school authority in Alausa, said the school cannot be reopened as the water samples from one of the multiple water delivery points still poses concern with regards to safety and portability.
Idris said there are five water sources in the school of which three have been certified okay while the remaining two sources still pose serious danger.
According to him, “to be specific, water samples from the delivery points to Junior and Senior students’ hostels conform to official specifications, while there is need for additional decontamination of the reticulation to the kitchen and the sick bay.”
The commissioner explained that because of the polymicrobial nature of this occurrence, continuous screening, follow up and monitoring will continue for all students and staff of the school.
He however directed all proprietors of schools to ensure adequate environmental sanitation and hygiene within the school premises and Provision of safe water, appropriate refuse disposal.
Idris also stressed that all kitchen staff and school food vendors should undergo food handlers test biannually as well as continuous monitoring of water and sewage treatment plants.
He said the government regrets the unfortunate incident especially the deaths recorded and hereby commiserates with the parents on the painful losses and the hardship faced by survivors.
“You may recall that I did mention during the first press briefing that the disease was due to contamination of the multiple sources of water in the school with various micro-organisms. I am delighted to inform you that the sources of contamination have been largely removed.
He said the school authority in collaboration with Parents Teachers Association, Old Girls Association and the Federal Ministry of Education, is speedily addressing identified areas of lapses.
He listed the identified areas of intervention to include, decommissioning of the multiple contaminated water sources, deployment of a single water source with water treatment, renovation of the dining hall, decontamination of the hostels and overhauling of the sewage system and clearance of the septic tanks.
The School Principal, Mrs Abiola Are said provision has been made to ensure that the junior and senior secondary school students seat for their ongoing WAEC examination.
She said the senior students presently come from homes adding that inspection team is in place to check the water and food that they come into the school with.
“Our junior students’ exam will be in April and by then am sure we would have been able to resolve all this issues.
A Director in the Federal Ministry of Education, Also Mr. Jonathan Nbaka, said the government is government is doing all it can to resolve the situation.
“When the issue came to limelight, the principal denied the case that nothing happened. And after we deployed another principal, it was revealed that the school was in crisis.
“The challenge we have had was that the fact wasn’t coming to the Federal Government as expected. I can inform you that I have visited the school over three times.
He said there was a little lapse on the report filed by the Education Quality Assurance team sent prior to the outbreak. “The report was submitted to the director of that ministry. But the director didn’t pass the report to other department in the ministry for appropriate action.
“Unfortunately, it was this week that I was able to lay my hands on that report. It is a little lapse on our part. But it is procedural issue and when procedure has existed too long, to change it becomes an issue.”
Tag: Queen’s College
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Lagos insists on continuous closure of Queen’s College
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Cholera: Queen’s College to remain closed – Lagos govt
The Lagos State Government on Tuesday insisted that the Queen’s College, where three students recently lost their lives to cholera outbreak, would remain closed.
The state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, who addressed journalists after a meeting with officials of the Federal Ministry of Education and the school management in Alausa, said the school cannot be reopened as the water samples from one of the multiple water delivery points still pose safety and portability concern.
Idris said there are five water sources in the school of which three have been certified okay while the remaining two still pose serious danger.
The commissioner said, “To be specific, water samples from the delivery points to junior and senior students’ hostels conform to official specifications, while there is need for additional decontamination of the reticulation to the kitchen and the sick bay.”
He said because of the polymicrobial nature of this occurrence, continuous screening, follow up and monitoring would continue for all students and staff of the school.
He, however, directed all proprietors of schools to ensure adequate environmental sanitation and hygiene within the school premises and provision of safe water and appropriate refuse disposal systems.
Idris also stressed that all kitchen staff and school food vendors should undergo food handlers test bi-annually as well as continuous monitoring of water and sewage treatment plants.
He said the state government regretted the unfortunate incident, especially the deaths recorded and commiserated with the parents on the painful losses and the hardship faced by survivors.
“You may recall that I did mention during the first press briefing that the disease was due to contamination of the multiple sources of water in the school with various micro-organisms. I am delighted to inform you that the sources of contamination have been largely removed,” the commissioner added.
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When will Queen’s College reopen?
Queen’s College, Yaba, Lagos Mainland was expected to reopen last Sunday, but the resumption was stopped at the last minute. The Federal Government agreed with the Lagos State Government that the time was not ripe for the reopening of the school which was shut because of an outbreak of water-borne diseases. Two pupils died of the diseases. Parents are pitching their tent with the government. ADEGUNLE OLUGBAMILA and JANE CHIJIOKE examine the positions of the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) and the Queen’s College Old Girls Association on the matter.
hen will Queen’s College, Lagos be reopened? Last Saturday the management and the Queens College Parent-Teacher Association (QCPTA) told parents that the school would resume on Sunday. But on Sunday, the Federal Government told the management to stay action on the planned resumption “until further notice.”
On Monday, when The Nation visited the school, parents were seen bringing their children in JSS3 and SS3 for the mandatory coaching class ahead of their Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), and the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
The government’s directive, The Nation learnt, appeared to have assuaged the anxiety of many parents, following an outbreak of water-borne diseases that claimed two pupils – Vivian Osainyi, and Itula Binta.
Over 100 other pupils were admitted at the sick bay.
Parents rebuffed management entreaties and went to pick their children from school.
Last Thursday, Lagos State Commissioner for Health Dr Jide Idris recommended that the school should not reopen until adequate precautionary measures had been taken, citing contaminated water as the major cause of the epidemic. Two days after Unity Schools Old Students Association (USOSA), issued another statement, corroborating the Lagos State government’s position
The PTA and the management described the state government’s recommendation that the planned resumption last Sunday be put on hold as “unfair.”
The PTA Chairman Dr John Ofobike accused some elements, especially the old girls, of trying to politicise the situation. He lamented that the announcement had further heightened tension in the school.
“We think someone is trying to politicise something here,” Ofobike said.
“You know some people have been clamouring for privatising unity colleges; and I want to say here that the old girls have not been helping matters. They have been adding more to the tension with their utterances.
“I do not know the intention of the whistle-blower, because there is panic everywhere by that (government) information. Over 2,000 parents called me on Friday alone. I am not aware, and I do not know if the Federal Ministry of Health is also aware. It is unfortunate, because we have over 3000 students here,” he said.
He said the PTA had addressed the water issue, while the old students have fumigated the entire premises and given the dining hall a facelift.
Oforbike stated: “We have resolved the water issue. The old girls brought an expert who constructed this water about 15 year ago. He has advised again that this plant needs to be overhauled because the water is contaminated. That treatment plant is old and supposed to give way. In the short term he is closing down all shallow boreholes in the college. We have only one industrial borehole now which the school is going to use and chemicals to make the water drinkable are in place. This one can last for a year according to the advice from the engineer. Parents are ready (to resume) but the time is short. We are putting this borehole up as a temporary measure.
“The water plant has been in use for years but maybe something went wrong this time.
We have a water factory – Queens Delight
“It has been certified by NAFDAC and we have the papers, so this issue that Queens Delight is this or that. I’m surprised.
“The well we were using before is 70 or 80 feet deep and very shallow; but this one we have now is 580 feet deep.
“We have given this water to students and they did not die.
‘’Lagos State government is advising (closure of the school), but you go to schools owned by Lagos government and see how they are. Queens College still remains the best.
“The minister (of health) was told there were 200 students in the sick bay lying down, but when he came with his entourage and ambulances, there was no student in the sick bay. They have all gone on mid-term break. The students that died, died while in their various homes and not the college, though they were sick from here. They took ill and were given exit. The water was discovered while the students were on mid-term break.
“The old students cannot claim to be more of stakeholders than us. For instance, the president of the old student graduated in 1968, so they always feel the school belongs to them. But we are parents; I have a daughter here and so do others. So the interest of these children is of utmost concern to us.’’
But the President of the Queens College Old Students Association Dr. Funmi Ajose, said she would not dignify Ofobike’s claim with a response. She said Ofobike’s background speaks volume about who he is.
Earlier, Dr. Ajose had granted an interview to reporters where she accused the PTA and staff of negligence and indifference to the students.
“I do not wish to respond to those allegations,” Ajose told our reporter on telephone on Tuesday.
She added: “You reporters need to ask him (Ofobike) who he is; his background, and then gauge that with the utterances of the Commissioner for Health who is a specialist and an authority in that field.
“What background does he (Ofobike) have that gave him the opinion he was offering to the media? On what premise is he basing his opinion? Something is wrong here. That is all I have to say for now.”
Interestingly, too, parents are happy that their wards would now be with them while the school authorities put appropriate measures in place to guarantee the safety of the students. Many of the parents, who spoke to The Nation, pleaded anonymity to prevent their wards from being victimised upon resumption.
A parent aligned with the Federal Government’s directive to close down the school indefinitely.
He said: “This thing has become a national issue and I’m happy that the Federal Government has finally waded into it by closing down the school.
“Let the PTA put structures in place and let the government monitor to ensure everything is in order before our children can resume.
“There was a time they took us (parents) around the school premises during this crisis; that was when we knew there was no inspection in place. The sight was ugly! Management needs to do more.
“I remember a time my daughter was brought home sick. The school said she had malaria; we started treating her for malaria but the situation was getting worse. We now decided to conduct series of test on her and the result showed she had an infection and not malaria. That is how bad the situation is.”
Another parent, whose daughter is writing WASSCE, spoke in the same vein.
“They (management) made us sign one insurance form where each parent paid N500 yearly. When my daughter was brought home very sick, I took her to the hospital and I spent over N100,000 on her before she eventually got well. I then sent to the school receipt of the hospital bill hoping management would refund me, but up till now, they have not yet responded.
“I have already made arrangements for water and food for my daughter. I do not want her to touch or take any food within the school premises while her exams lasts,” the parent said.
‘Nobody carried us along’
Another parent who live in Abuja lamented the short notice given to them ahead of resumption.
“We first received one SMS on Thursday, last week from the management, before another one from the PTA on Saturday asking us to report with our wards on Sunday.
“That is unfair. They know many of us don’t live within Lagos and someone like me had to rush my daughter down on Monday. I had to buy most of the things she needed in Lagos because we had no time to arrange.
“Let’s even assume I live in Lagos, if my house is in Badagry or Ikorodu, it would still have been difficult to meet up due to the chaotic Lagos traffic. But beyond that, I feel the management and PTA have told us enough lies. Let them do the needful until that place is habitable for children to live.”
A teacher in the school, who pleaded not to be mentioned, told our reporter that aside fixing the boreholes, management should focus more attention on the lavatory.
“For me, the news all over the place is that the children are suffering from water-borne diseases. But I’m an insider here. When you go to their lavatory, the stench that will assail your nostrils will immediately put you off. That place is an eyesore and I believe these students must have contracted the disease there. Unfortunately, they usually don’t give access to outsiders to inspect their facilities.”
‘Need for action’
A concerned parent, Mrs Toyin Asuni, stressed the need for urgent action on the case to save the children’s lives.
“If QC is like this, I bet that more Federal Government colleges are in worse situations. If this sort of contamination happened in a corporate institution, the government agencies would have locked up the principal officers and closed down the business. What I am baffled about is the silence of the parents of that school. It is unbelievable,” she said in a facebook post.
‘Management is doing its best’
Defending the authority however, another teacher, who also pleaded not to be mentioned, said management was doing its best.
“Management is trying. Do you realise we have over 3000 students here? Those students that died, died in their homes and not in the school. If you don’t wear the shoes, you don’t know where it pinches. The government is not helping matters at all. It is the PTA and the old girls that have been shouldering much of the responsibility
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Queens College postpones resumption indefinitely
The management of Queens College, Yaba, Lagos, has yielded to the demands by the Lagos State government and Unity Schools Old Student Association (USOSA) to stay action on its planned resumption.
It was gathered that the management had sent an SMS to parents, directing them to bring their wards on Sunday.
Lagos State Commissioner for Health Jide Idris, at a briefing last Thursday, advised that the resumption be delayed till appropriate measures have been put in place for the pupils’ safety .
The school has been closed since an outbreak of water borne disease led to the death of two pupils and over hundred others admitted at the school’s sick bay.
But the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) described government’s position as “giving a dog a bad name in order to hang it”, saying there was no going back on the resumption.
PTA Chairman Dr John Ofobike told reporters in a briefing at the weekend that there was no cause for alarm as all necessary measures are in place ahead of resumption.
But yesterday Ofobike told our reporter in a phone interview that only JSS 3 and SSS 3 pupils were allowed to resume because of their exams. Resumption for others, he said, has been postponed indefinitely.
At the school yesterday, an SS 3 pupil who pleaded for anonymity, said she has decided to abstain from food and drink in the school while her exam lasted.
“The school has asked us to come because of our exam that is about to start. I have treated myself but I still have to tread with caution. Truthfully, I cannot eat or drink anything in the school.”
A parent, Kareem Babalola, was optimistic that the school will get better. He said: “My (daughter’s) case was severe. I think I was even the first to raise the alarm over the health issue. One of my daughters in JSS1 was seriously ill; she was rejected by three hospitals.
“Finally, she was admitted in LASUTH. I spent over a million naira to treat her. She was admitted for a month. I am just grateful to God that she’s fine and healthy now.” -
Lagos asks Queens College to delay resumption
The Lagos State government has recommended that Queens College, Yaba, delay its resumption till appropriate measures are in place for the safety of its pupils.
According to Commissioner of Health Jide Idris, the recommendation was necessary to ensure that all sources of contaminants in the school, which have been causing the death of pupils be properly handled.
Idris said the source of the problem was contaminated water.
The commissioner said: “Available health records from the sick bay showed that the date of onset of illness was January 16.
The total number of pupils at the clinic on account of abdominal pain, fever, vomiting and diarrhea was 1, 222 from the first date of presentation January 16 to the last date of presentation February 15.
“There were four peak periods of infection namely January 31, February 2, February 8 and February 14.
“The highest peak was January 31. Sixteen cases were admitted in various hospitals.
Nine have been discharged, two died, one is still on admission at the Intensive Care Unit of Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja and three in Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba.
“Water samples from six sources in the school were collected and analysed at LASUTH’s Drug Quality Control Laboratory.
“Another day of water samples from 10 sources were collected and analysed at LUTH’s Microbiology Department.”
Idris said the results from the two laboratories showed high bacterial content in the water samples from the kitchen, behind dining hall and Queen’s Delight, the school’s water factory.
The bacteria range from Coliforms, Escherichia Coli, Salmonella, Klebsiella Ozoana and Aeromonas Hydrophila.
He said specimens collected from 40 kitchen staff revealed cysts of Entamoeba Histolytica were isolated in the stool of 23 food handlers, Salmonella Paratyphi, the causative agent of Typhoid fever, was also isolated from three food handlers.
“All these imply a common source (continuous) outbreak showing repeated or continuous infection from exposure to the infectious agent.
“Findings from the investigation were consistent with Enteric Fever.
“The infection was most likely spread through contaminated water sources and infection by good handlers,” said Idris.
He said it is pertinent to once more enlighten the public on good, water-borne, sanitation and hygiene related diseases.
“We advise that the resumption be delayed till appropriate measures have been put in place for the pupils’ safety.”
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Lagos urges Queens College to delay resumption
The Lagos State Government has recommended that Queen College delays its resumption till appropriate measures are taken to ensure the safety of the students.According to the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, the recommendation is necessary to ensure that all the sources of contaminants in the school which had been causing the death of students are properly handled.Idris said the source of the problem is contaminated water.“Water samples from six sources in the school premises were collected and analysed at Drug Quality Control Laboratory of Lagos State Ministry of Health at Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja. Another water samples from 10 sources were also collected and analysed at the Microbiology Department of LUTH, Idi-Araba.”The commissioner said the results from the two laboratories showed high bacterial content in the water samples from the kitchen, behind dining hall and Queen’s delight, the school water factory. The bacteria range from Coliforms, Escherichia Coli, Salmonella, Klebsiella ozoana and Aeromonas hydrophila.He said specimens collected from 40 kitchen staff revealed cysts of Entamoeba histolytica were isolated in the stool of 23 food handlers, Salmonella Paratyphi, the causative agent of Typhoid Fever, was also isolated from three food handlers.” All these out together implies a common source (continuous) outbreak showing repeated or continuous infection from exposure to the infectious agent. Findings from the investigation were consistent with Enteric Fever. The infection was most likely spread through contaminated water sources and infection by food handlers,” Idris. saidHe said it is pertinent to once more enlighten the public on food, water-borne, sanitation and hygiene related diseases. -
Queen’s College: Alumni to the rescue
Queen’s College Yaba, which lost two of its pupils to poor sanitary condition, is to wear a new look on resumption on March 19 after its mid-term break. The school’s facilities are being overhauled by its old girls, reports KOFOWOROLA BELO-OSAGIE.
When pupils of Queen’s College, Yaba, resume from their extended mid-term break on March 19, they will meet a number of changes in the school. Their dormitories would be sparkling clean with the walls washed or repainted, damaged mosquito nets replaced, faulty pipes repaired, rooms fumigated, and damaged metal railings welded.
In the dining hall, there would no longer be damaged rickety tables without formica covering; and while the terrazzo floors washed. In the classroom area, they will find a 15,000-Litre tank with potable water supplied by the Queen’s Delight Water factory within the premises.
The premises would have been rid of grass, sludge from burst/blocked pipes, and heap of dirt.
The cost of the ongoing clean up is being borne by the Queen’s College Old Girls’ Association. Its president, Dr Funmi Ajose, told The Nation that the job cost the group more than N20 million.
All these changes are taking place in the 90-year old college because of the deaths of two junior secondary pupils, Vivian Osuinyi and Itula Bithna.
Vivian died on February 14 and Bithna on 22, following suspected complications from illnesses related to water contamination.
It was the visit of Minister of Health Prof Isaac Adewole, to the school on February 23 that blew the matter open. He had received a phone call that that there was a diarrhea epidemic in the school.
Though the school went on mid-term break a day before his visit, a statement on the website of the Federal Ministry of Health noted that Adewole ordered an “investigation into the cause of deaths; inspection of the school environment including the Kitchen; examination of the source of water supply and its suitability for human consumption; and visitation to the bereaved families”.
The ruckus that followed the news resulted in the replacement of the principal, Dr Lami Amodu, with Mrs Biola Awe. It also elongated the five-day mid-term break, which should have ended February 26, by three weeks.
Though Dr Amodu had told the Minister nothing was amiss – as both girls did not die in school but at home, many parents complained that their wards fell ill and had to be treated for typhoid during the break.
Chairman of the school’s Parents/Teachers Association, Dr John Ofordike, said he had had to intervene when called that the pupils were falling ill some months back.
He told The Nation last week that he had to buy 3,000 bags of sachet water to check rampant stooling and vomiting.
Chairman of the School Based Management Committee (SBMC), Mr Amusat Azees, said the report investigation into the deaths had yet been made known to the school.
Plenty of Queen’s Delight water and none to drink
Many parents and others have condemned the presence of a sachet and table water packaging firm on the college’s premises for commercial purpose without attendant benefit to the school community. They argued it was an irony that such company existed yet pupils fell ill from water-borne diseases.
The Queen’s Delight sachet and bottled water is packaged by 360 Degrees, whose director is Mr Ajisafe Oluwasegun. The firm signed a 17-year Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) agreement with the Federal Ministry of Education (FME) in 2015 to produced potable water for sale in the school and outside.
At the inauguration of the water factory as part of projects initiated for the progress of the college, the then principal, Mrs Ekwutozia Osime, said the firm would supply the college part of the potable water it produced for sale. However, that was not the case as at February 22, 2017 when the school went on mid-term break for the second term of the 2016/2017 academic session.
In a phone interview with The Nation on Tuesday, Mrs Osime, who retired in 2015 shortly after the inauguration, said the contract was not followed up by the school management after her exit.
“I left shortly before the water factory got its license for production of sachet water. They got the license for bottled water shortly afterwards. The agreement was that the investor would give Queen’s College part of the water. While I was there, they laid a pipe from the factory to somewhere near the school hall but there was a complaint about the pipes being mixed with others or so.
“I expected that after I left, the management after me would have followed up with the investor. I know at a point I got complaints from the investor then that the water supplied to the college was not paid for,” she said.
On his part, Ajisafe said that his agreement to supply the school with potable water was a goodwill agreement. He said though part of his proposal, the clause was not contained in the user agreement he signed with the FME.
“The agreement that Queen’s Delight was to provide water is a goodwill agreement. It was inside a proposal that I made with the Federal Ministry of Education. But it is not in the User Agreement signed with the ministry. It is not a right; it is a goodwill agreement that could have been implemented in four years. I did not legally agree that I will do that,” Ajisafe said.
However, the Civil Engineer added that the goodwill part of the agreement was indeed implemented immediately – though it did not yield the desired result – which was to provide potable water to the school community.
“Immediately after the inauguration, we laid a pipe from the factory to an underground tank provided by the school to collect water for use. However, we found that the tank was not suitable for clean water so it could not serve that purpose,” he said.
Ajisafe also lamented that contrary to the user agreement that only Queen’s Delight would sell on the premises, other brands of packaged water was allowed in the school, forcing the company to source for clients outside.
“The agreement was that Queen’s College will not patronise any water from any other soruce. Unfortunately, we did not enjoy that under the former principal, Dr Lami Amodu. But we have had encouraging talks with the new principal who has promised to study the agreement,” he said.
In the aftermath of the water contamination crisis, Ajisafe said the firm has now provided a suitable tank that would supply potable water to the pupils in the classroom area.
“We have linked another pipe to the school area and connected it to a 15,000-litre capacity tank that we procured. We bought the tank and constructed the base and laid the pipe from our factory. We just concluded the work today (Tuesday),” he said.
Old Girls’ sanitising role
While the report of the investigation ordered by Prof Adewole has not yet been made public, Dr Ajose, President of the Old Girls’ Association, said the old girls of the school have stepped in on a rescue mission. She told The Nation that the aim of is to “establish the standard of cleanliness and hygiene Queen’s College was known for and hand it over to the school management and PTA to maintain.”
Dr Ajose attributed the epidemic to filthiness and negligence of the school’s facilities. She said investigations revealed that many of the boreholes were not deep enough and too close to septic tanks thereby vulnerable to contamination.
“The first thing we did was to correctly assess the situation. The problem is that of long-standing filth, negligence, and water pollution,” she said.
To arrest the neglect, Dr Ajose said the old girls have spent substantial funds cleaning the filth out of dormitories, classrooms, school premises and the dining hall.
She said: “The first thing we acted on was to clean the premises of the filth. We embarked on fumigation to de-contaminate the school of vectors such as bed bug and others. We invested a lot of money on the sanitization of the entire premises, included the boarding house, the staff housing, classrooms, and others.
“Plumbing works in the school are damaged. A lot of the plumbing cannot be repaired so it is costing us a lot of money. A lot of the mosquito nets are damaged; some of the walls could not be washed; we have to repaint them.
“Our initial budget was N2 million but that is not even the final budget. It excludes the painting, which is yet to be costed. A lot of welding has to be done. Some of the metal railings on the balconies are eroded and very dangerous. There is still much work to do. We don’t know yet what the final budge will be. We have not even faced the water project. We have to re-dig the boreholes because we found that the boreholes must be very deep to reach clean water and avoid contamination. Most of the boreholes are shallow that is why they are easily contaminated by sewage.
“A set (of old girls) in the school had spent a lot of money on the dining hall and the kitchen. But there are some old tables without covering, which are falling apart. Those are the ones we are facing. We are repairing those that can be repaired or replacing those that are bad.
“The floor is so dirty that you can hardly see the terrazzo anymore. So we are going to professionally wash the floor with machines to remove the dirt that has stuck on for so long.”
After the redemption work, Dr Ajose said the old girls intend to educate the teachers and workers of the school on hygiene and maintenance.
“On the first working day of resumption, we intend to spend the whole day on health educationfor the teachers and students. The students are a reflection of their teachers. The environment the teachers live in is no better than that of the students. The teachers’ living area is just as bad.
“We are going to talk about hygiene and health education, and how to maintain the facilities. We will make the students feel personal responsibility for the items in their vicinity so they treat them with care,” she said.
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The Queen’s College incident
•We welcome the ministerial probe and hope it will get to the root of the matter
WHAT killed two students of Queen’s College, Yaba, Lagos? This is the main riddle that a ministerial inquiry into the circumstances that led to the death of the students as well as the cases of the other students who took ill after they reportedly ate spaghetti and drank water that they said was contaminated, has to resolve.
Often referred to as the “sister college” of King’s College, Lagos, Queen’s College, one of the elite schools in the country, is in the middle of another storm. In March, last year, the school was rocked by allegation of sex assault against one of the pupils by a teacher. Somehow, the matter was investigated and the verdict was that no such thing occurred.
Then, last month, the news broke that two students – Vivian Osuiniyi and Bithia Itulua – died following an alleged food poisoning. Vivian, a Junior Secondary School two (JSS2) pupil died on February 15 while Bithia, a JSS 3 pupil died exactly a week later.
About 50 others were said to have been hospitalised. They were all boarding students.
A pupil said in an interview that the school’s water system had been polluted for some time. “I don’t know the number of boarders affected, but one of my friends is also in the hospital. The one that died is Vivian (Osuiniyi). She was in JSS 2. Those affected in my dormitory are not less than 10. The problem started after we took spaghetti and drank the contaminated water in the hostel. When I woke up, I started feeling pains in my stomach. I was given some drugs and asked to return to my dormitory, but the pain didn’t stop. We complained to the school about the water that we drink, but nothing was done.”
This was corroborated by some other students and their parents.
In spite of these claims by the students, the school authorities do not ever seem to be willing to accept that something went wrong. Indeed, this is one disturbing aspect of such negative incidents in the school. Even the Parents-Teachers Association (PTA), according to one of the parents whose daughter was affected, did not want the issue exposed, as students who spread ‘false reports’ about the school were threatened with summary dismissal.
Inded, after the alleged sexual assault matter last year, the PTA reportedly issued a circular dated October 26, 2016, warning that “…henceforth, the child/ward of any parent/guardian, found to be using the social media to spread false and negative information or incite other parents will be withdrawn from the college. Parents/guardians are therefore advised to desist from such unwholesome acts.”
This is why it is gratifying that the Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, has stepped into the matter after visiting the school to ascertain what actually transpired. We urge the investigative team comprising members of staff of the Department of Medicine of the University of Lagos and the Epidemiology Unit of the Lagos State Ministry of Health to deal diligently with the matter. Could it be that the school’s facilities are over-stretched as claimed in some reports? Or was it just a case of negligent or corruption that is rampant in public institutions in the country?
This is not a matter for the school authorities to handle. Parents should be able to sleep with their two eyes closed after sending their children to school, rest assured that the children are in safe hands. It is the height of insensitivity for the school authorities to blame parents for ‘aggravating’ an incident of such magnitude. Do the school authorities have any clue to bring back those two students who died, irrespective of what killed them? If not, then the question of parents ‘aggravating’ the matter should never arise.
We commiserate with the parents of the innocent pupils even as we await a detailed report of what actually led to the unfortunate incident. -
Parents protest Queen’s College pupils’ death
Parents are bitter about how their children are being treated at Queen’s College, Yaba, Lagos Mainland, where two pupils have died from drinking unclean water.
Vivian Osuinyi died of diarrhea on February 14; Itula Bithna died of typhoid on February 22.
The girls, who were junior secondary pupils, died at home after falling ill in school
The Parents Teachers Association (PTA) Chairman, Mr John Ofordike, said he was called to the school three months ago to attend to a medical issue.
“As far as I am concerned I cannot tell you the cause of their death, but, was told that it is typhoid fever and it was caused by bad water. Three months ago, there was an incident in the college. Students were vomiting and purging and I was called upon. When I got there I saw children at the sick bay receiving treatments and while some were still waiting to be treated. We tried to examine the issue but didn’t know where the fault was. So in the end, I donated 3,000 bags of pure water which lasted for five days and during that period the number of children vomiting and purging reduced.
“Before they vacated, I advised parents to take their children for medical check-up. So many did and I got so many complaints – of fever, high level of typhoid in their system. It is disheartening that four months into my election as the chairman, there have been medical issues and even deaths,” he said.
Ofordike noted that the pupils were not benefiting from the Queen’s Delight table water which is produced in the school by a private firm.
The firm started operation about two years ago, with an agreement to provide potable water for domestic use in the school. However, Ofordike said the water was being sold to outsiders without consideration for the pupils.
Henceforth, he said, the firm would provide the water for use in the dormitories, kitchen, clinic and dining areas.
A parent, who simply called himself Mr Zubby, blamed the pupils’ death on negligence.
He said: “It is a result of negligence. That is why we are here. Nobody is happy. I have two children here and I would not want anything to go wrong with them. After their inter-house sports, I took my daughters’ home. That night one of them fell really sick. When we conducted tests on them, they were both positive with high level of typhoid. So we started advising parents to do same, so many results from the parents were positive too. In fact one of us said her daughter’s was critical.
“I think there should be transparency; you do not expect any parent to start raising issue where there is none. Most times these children come back home and complain of one thing or the other and where the management is not able to say let us sit down and proffer solution it becomes a big issue.”
Another parent, Mr Timothy Babafemi, said: “We are not happy at all with the issue. There were rusted pipes that resulted in the contamination of the water. Though my daughter suffered from malaria as a result of bad windows, mosquitoes, but with the help of the PTA and other agencies, the deteriorated facilities in the school are being repaired”.
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Fed Govt to probe death of two Queens College pupils
The Federal Government is to investigate the death of two pupils of Queens College, Yaba, Lagos, Health Minister Prof. Isaac Adewole said yesterday.
The pupils, a statement issued by the Ministry said, died at home. The cause of death nor when they died was not stated. Their death followed the reported outbreak of diarrhoea in the school, which is on mid-term holiday.
The statement said the minister got a distress call on diarrhoea outbreak at Queens College, while in Lagos to commission the West Africa College of Surgeons secretariat.
According to the statement, the minister diverted his convoy to visit the school with Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Chief Medical Director and met the representative of Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr Erinosho, the Principal Dr. Lami Amodu and her staff.
The statement reads: “He was told the school is on mid-term break but there were two reported deaths of students at home. One due to febrile illness and cause of the second is unknown.
“Following his interaction, the minister has directed the officials of the Ministry of Health, community health and LUTH to ascertain the cause of death of the students, inspect the school environment including the kitchen, examine the source of water supply and test its suitability for human consumption and also visit the bereaved families.
“Adewole who said the report of investigation will be forwarded to the Minister of Education who has been informed on the steps taken, called for calm as government is on top of the situation.
“It was gathered from the nurse in charge that prior to the mid-term break that started on Wednesday, no student was admitted at the sick bay for any diarrhoea disease.”