By Tony Eri
The Proprietress of Blessed Wisdom Model School has come forward to apologize for the two year old pupil of the school who was given tongue cut and femur injuries.
Anambra State Commissioner for Education, Prof. Ngozi Chuma-Udeh disclosed this while speaking with journalists at the Ministry in Awka.
Commenting on the issue, the Commissioner disclosed that she received a petition from a law firm pertaining to the child that got battered, with a cut tongue and a broken hand with the bones shooting out, saying that she did her job by inviting the proprietor of the school twice to ascertain the problem, but she was adamant about honoring the invitation.
Prof. Chuma-Udeh, explained that following the third invitation to them, she received a call by 11pm from the proprietor, who informed her that she would not be able to come because she had an event to attend.
The Commissioner told the proprietor that if she refused her invitation, she would have no option but to close down her school temporarily until she explained why a two-year-old child was battered in her school.
She stressed that if the proprietor had answered her call, the issue would not have escalated and dragged, condemning her insensitivity to human life as unimaginable.
“Eventually, when we put out a ban on the school, she refused to close down the school, until ANJET enforced the closure.
“At the committee level, we invited the parents of the child, their lawyers, and the proprietor. She had no option but to come with her husband and a retinue of her staff.
“If she had sent two representatives of her staff as well to represent her, I do not think this case would have dragged on to this extent,” she said.
According to the Commissioner, during the inquiry, the committee discovered that the child went to school and got hurt, but there was a disagreement about what actually happened.
“A section of people claimed that a cupboard fell on the child, while another section claimed that the child had a big fall. Between these two discoveries, the committee decided that this is something that an apology and an act of human kindness would solve.
“The committee also discovered that within the four months that the child had been in that state, the school authorities did not ask about the child or show concern to give her medical treatment.
“Thereafter, the committee brought their report, but the proprietor maintained that she would never apologize because it was not her fault that the child came to the school and got hurt.
“The lawyer of the proprietor apologized on her behalf, and the lawyer of the child’s family said that this is a case that a mere apology would have solved”; explained the Commissioner.
Prof. Chuma-Udeh stressed that nobody was interested in closing down and putting the school out of business, but the proprietor was too proud and lacked human sympathy, stating that the proprietor went as far as using what she called some “junk journalists” to threaten her, saying that one of the so called journalists boasted that he had a lot of evidence to publish against her.
“I am not a thief! I am only doing my duty as an education commissioner because every child belongs to the state. We are here to protect the life of every child in this state.
“Governor Soludo’s aim is an all-inclusive governance to take care of every single citizen in Anambra State, and for us in the ministry of education, our first motto is reverence for human life.
“When we see such irreverence for human life, it is appalling!” she stated.
Reacting, the Proprietress of Blessed Wisdom Model School Onitsha, Mrs. Ifeanyinwa Nkamigbo, accepted to take the responsibility of the child in making sure the child receives proper treatment and also accepted further responsibilities on the child.
She maintained that the matter has been resolved amicably and also reiterated that she has written a letter of apology to the Commissioner of Education and to Anambra State Government.
