By Nahum Sule (Taraba State Correspondent, in Jalingo)
The lecturers of Taraba State College of Nursing and Midwifery have commenced one week of mourning following the continuous decay of structures and the deplorable condition of the school.
The one week mourning, according to the lecturers, is to enable them pray to God for Divine intervention in the college situation since the late governor's efforts to ensure high class health practitioners in the state is slowly becoming a mirage.
Some of the lecturers who reached out to NIGERIAN NEWSLEADER Correspondent with pictures of the decaying school structures meant to have been the school laboratories, lecture halls, staff quarters and other relevant administrative offices, explained that the situation was hampering quality service delivery for students to become the best that is required of health services.
A management staff who pleaded not to be mentioned in our news report for obvious reasons, said, "Our decision to embark on a one week mourning and prayers in honour of late former governor Danbaba Danfulani Suntai, is to beg God to answer our prayers and intervene in the school's situation.
"This school was built by late governor Suntai and we feel that if the school is not supposed to be in this condition, God should answer our prayers and intervene in the situation. We need to mourn him for at least one week.
"The decaying structures in the institution are especially those that are supposed to be the school laboratories, staff quarters, lecturer halls and other important administrative offices. This is not just a conventional institution where students come and spend their academic years and proceed for national youth service, the students are require to be man's health engineers here on earth and we are expected to give them best that is needed.
"This condition has forced our school to remain behind the standards required for Nigeria Colleges of Nursing and Midwifery in the country.
"The lack of lecture halls and other academic and technical logistics in the institution is currently hindering accreditation of many courses which we believe a serious government would have tackled for the progress of the school. The Institution needs to meet the desire of the late governor Suntai to produce quality health personnel in the state.
"About N11.02bn was allocated to education sector in the state in the 2020 budget and in other Budgets presented by governor Darius Ishaku. Education has always been top in the annual budget allocation of the state and we wonder why the state College of Nursing and Midwifery here in Jalingo is still suffering this bad condition.
"Due to this situation, lecturers have to take the pains of renting apartments with also bear the pains of paying transport or fueling their vehicles to school on a daily basis just to render their required services to the people of Taraba state. We are lacking the required materials and proper environment to offer the best to groom the young health engineers for this state and Nigerian in general.
"We are praying to God that even if the present government refuses to take the school to the required standard, the next government should make Tarabans proud by changing the narrative to safeguard the health of the citizens", the lecturers stated.
But when contacted, the Taraba State Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Hon. Edward Baraya, told NIGERIAN NEWSLEADER Correspondent that he was not authorized to grant interview to any media organization. He explained that he must get directive from either the Chief of Staff to the governor or from the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), before granting any interview to journalists. NNL.
