1,000 students of Queen’s College,Yaba, Lagos have reportedly gone home after an outbreak of infection.
According to Punch newspapers, the Chairman of the Parents Teachers Association, John Ofobike said that as at 7pm on Monday, 1,000 pupils had left the school on health grounds, as they had become ill just two weeks after resumption.
He added that the school’s sickbay became crowded with students while many were kept on benches for lack of bed space.
Some parents narrated how they spent their hard-earned money on what doctors described as bacterial infections from food and water.
Another parent, who asked not to be identified, alleged that the school was not fumigated before the pupils resumed.
However, a parent said that the reason why parents were asked to pick up their children was due to the shortage of medical personnel. He narrated with disbelief that only one doctor and a nurse were expected to attend to over 200 pupils.
He said “As at 4:30 pm when I was there, the doctor, nurse and record woman have yet to have their breakfast due to the workload. They have seen more than 150 students today.”
One of the parents who confirmed the figures said that the school principal denied the PTA access to the records. However, Yakubu Oyinloye, the principal of the school could not be reached on telephone.
There is an alleged epidemic, but the school seems to be trying to cover it up. This is happening again two years after three pupils of the school died from water-borne infections. That incidence received a lot of criticism and calls for an investigation into the crisis from many Nigerians.