Alleged protest by students, Punch lied~RSUBEB

A story written by a reporter with Punch newspaper about an alleged protest by some secondary school students, over inadequate teachers and poor learning conditions, has been described as ” untrue and a fiction of the imagination of the reporter”. A statement sent to Africa Update and signed by the Director, Administration & Supplies/Public Relations , Rivers State Universal Basic Education Board, Karibi George, Esq, reads:

RIVERS STATE UNIVERSAL BASIC EDUCATION BOARD 16A ELECHI BEACH, MILE ONE DIOBU, PORT HARCOURT PRESS RELEASE SLUG: RE: RIVERS SECONDARY SCHOOLS STUDENTS PROTEST INADEQUATE TEACHERS – REFUTAL BY RIVERS STATE UNIVERSAL BASIC EDUCATION BOARD (PORT HARCOURT, February 17, 2021) – The PUNCH newspaper of February 16, 2021 carried a headline that “Rivers secondary school students protest inadequate teachers”. The body of the story alleged that “Students of Community Junior Secondary School, Olanada in Rumuola Road, Port Harcourt, Rivers State on Monday staged a peaceful protest over inadequate teachers in their school”. The story added that the students carried placards inscribed “we need more teachers” and “noted that classes in the school now merge to learn as there were only a few teachers in the school, making physical distancing COVID-19 safety measure impossible during learning hours.”

Furthermore, according to the reporter Sampson Itode, “another student said they don’t have hand washing facility, as the water drums with taps provided for them were always empty”. Regrettably, this story has been further diffused in the news bulletins of Cool (95. FM), Nigeria Info (92.3 FM), and Wazobia (94.1 FM) in Port Harcourt, attributing the source of the story to the PUNCH. Worse, Wazobia FM used the story as the subject of its morning talk show on Wednesday 17th February, 2021 The Rivers State Universal Basic Education Board (RSUBEB) wishes to inform the general public, especially parents and guardians of pupils of Community (Junior) Secondary School, Olanada, Port Harcourt, that our pupils did not embark on any such protest on Monday or any other day.

The story is untrue and a fiction of the imagination of the reporter. First, the pupils of the school were in school writing their terminal examinations on the day the alleged protest took place. Second, CSS, Olanada is a model school that is adequately staffed with 82 specialist subject teachers. On the day of the alleged protest virtually all the teachers were in school, while the principal and a few others were attending a training programme organized by the Board in conjunction with the National Institute for Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), Ondo and the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Abuja. Third, CSS, Olanada has a newly constructed block of classrooms and staff rooms. It is a school with water and sanitation facilities serviced by a functional standby generator. It is therefore highly unlikely that such a school could ever be without water for washing of hands. Fourth, the uniform of the alleged protesting students in the photograph published by the PUNCH is strange to CSS, Olanada. The students were in white tops and blue shorts, while our students wear pink top and maroon shorts.

The story by the PUNCH newspaper which has been diffused by other electronic media in Rivers State is untrue. The Rivers State Commissioner of Education, Professor Kaniye Ebeku and the Executive Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board, Venerable Fyneface Akah, who jointly visited the school on Wednesday 17th February, 2021, expressed consternation at the false news. They could not decipher the objective of such misinformation which is capable of causing apprehension in the public. They advised mainstream media practitioners to be true to the ethics and laws of media practice, by verifying and balancing stories rather than being misled by the unregulated social media. ### Karibi George, Esq., FNIPR Director, Administration & Supplies/Public Relations