In this report, AHMED 'LATEEF writes on the recent reunion in Ilorin of Old Students of Titcombe College, Egbe, and the current drive to salvage the school's infrastructure.
The present state of infrastructure in a number of public citadels of learning across the country is appalling. The disturbing trend is apparently a call for concern, especially as it portends bleak future for the nation's education.
A section of the society believes the dysfunctional nature of amenities in public owned schools including federal, state and even local governments signposts dwindling fortune of standard of education in Nigeria. Their assertion may have been justified going by the saying, conducive learning is sine qua non for quality education.
On account of this ugly development, many parents, particularly those in the elite class, are no longer desirous to enrol their children in the schools owned government. And the attendant adverse effect is insatiable quest of would be pupils and students for privately established schools.
This syndrome alone is a cause for worry if the narrative of the good old time in public schools is anything to consider. The current generation has been inundated with an avalanche of story on the joy derivable for just being students in public schools.
There are subsisting tales that those who attended public schools in the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s did not just receive quality education, but free feeding and accommodation, conducive learning atmosphere and pocket money inclusive.These provisions alone would spur anyone with hope for better future to want to go to school. Such were the beautiful features that accompanied studentship.
The tale had since been altered with the debilitating condition of facilities in most of public schools, thus provoking a number of unanswered questions whether there is hope in sight should situation persist.
Visits to different public schools today result in sad commentary and the tale is better told when pupils and students in some cases are seen sitting on the floor of their classrooms and as well as under the tree within the school premises while teachers teach them.
Apart from classrooms that are in state of disrepair, other facilities such as toilets, sporting equipment and the likes are nothing to write home about, thereby accentuating the doubt in some quarters that all hope has been lost.
Like the ugly picture of dilapidated infrastructure in many public schools in the country, the story of Titcombe College, Egbe in Yagba West Local Government Area of Kogi State is not anything different. The situation of infrastructure in the school is a cause to worry and currently dominating serious discourse among stakeholders.
Founded by the then Evangelical Church of West Africa (ECWA) and Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) as a missionary school in 1951 in Egbe, old Kwara State, Titcombe College was taken over by the government with the high hope that it would be better managed and other needed infrastructure provided.
However, since the take over of the school, the good attention it hitherto received had declined and most of the amenities in the once enviable college had gone into state of decay.
This and other reasons combined, prompted the Old Students of the school under the auspices of Titcombe College, Egbe Old Students Association 1979-1984 to reunite in Ilorin for a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting where they discussed and charted a new course to return the school to its former glory.
In the spirit of Alma Mater, leaders and members of the association, which had since been registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) met a fortnight ago and resolved to raise a minimum of N5million for renovation of public toilets for boys and girls within the academic area of the school.
To benefit from the project in which each member of the association was tasked to contribute at least N50,000, is Principal's office expected to be renovated and furnished.
The old students group also resolved at the NEC meeting at the instance of its National President, Dr (Mrs) Biola Adimula, an Ilorin-based legal practitioner and cerebral scholar, to cater for the welfare of teaching staff of the school, who are struggling to survive the hard time.
The meeting also ratified the appointment of Dr. Job Adewumi, the then Principal of Titcombe College as Patron of the association for Board of Trustees approval while members were also encouraged to nominate other suitable persons for Patron/Matron and Advisers.
At the well attended meeting, it was also resolved that a national conference be held in Ilorin by September 2018 when the old students set would have clocked 39 years.
The renovation project for which a committee had already been constituted would be completed and commissioned in September 2019 when the set would have been 40 year old.
Speaking on the outcome of the meeting, Dr (Mrs) Adimula, who is also a Lecturer at the Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies, University of Ilorin, said the set was appalled by the state of infrastructure at the college in Egbe.
She explained that other set are also making effort to restore the past glory of the school but her group decided to intervene so as to arrest the anomaly.
As a measure to rescue standard of education from crumbling further, Dr Adimula stated that the group would create award winning prizes for students of the college, saying this would stimulate their intellectual ability.
"The motive of the meeting of Old Students Association of Titcombe College, Egbe of 1979-1984 Set that we held was that all the national executive committees comprising of board members, national officers, chairmen and secretaries of other branches came to Ilorin between May 7 and 13, 2018.
"At that meeting, we were able to ratify our Constitution that has been registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). Apart from that, we also gave ourselves some training on leadership skills, particularly on emotional intelligence before we started the business meeting.
"The business meeting has to do with the report from the Local Organising Committee, and this one is in respect of a national reunion conference that we are planning for September 2018.
"We entered Titcombe College, Egbe September 9, 1979 and on September 9, 2018, we will be 39 years. So, we planned to come to Ilorin to have our thanksgiving ceremony at Second ECWA Church, Amilegbe, Ilorin.
"The choice of that Church is the fact that Titcombe College, Egbe is an ECWA School and secondly, our Principal then, Dr Job Adewumi is an elder in that Church. So, we want to use the thanksgiving to honour him in his Church.
"Apart from that is the fact that we have set up a project committee prior to now to go to Titcombe College to access the problems in that school, and this NEC meeting afforded us the opportunity to be able to listen to Titcombe College, Egbe Project Committee. The committee made us know that the facilities in the College had rundown academically, within the premises and even the hostel.
"There is a lot of problem with the teachers welfare. Salaries are not being paid and so the level of commitment of teachers to education has become very low. The students are non-challant, they are not forthcoming because of the socio and economic situation.
"We identified that we want to give support to that school, and so, we have put for ourselves a budget of minimum of N5million, which is to be contributed by members. Minimum contribution per person is N50,000 and you can contribute more than that.
"With this N5million, we intend to address three particular areas. The area is on facilities within the premises of the school, to renovate the public toilets for boys and girls within the academic area. We also intend to renovate the Principal's office and furnish.
"The other area we are working on is teachers' welfare. We want to contribute some money to ensure that the welfare of the teachers is taking into consideration and support their economic status.
"We are working towards introducing some incentives to students to gear and ginger them to study better; introduce some awards and competitions that will make us to be conversant with the school and they will be looking up to us as a role model and at the same time, they will be working towards excellence so that they can be able to win prizes and awards that we would take there", Dr Adimula said.
