Abia govt to partner Old Boys to rebuild alma mater

THE Abia State Government and the Old Boys Association of Ibo National High School, Aba, have agreed to partner in the renovation of the school.Speaking during a courtesy visit to the state governor, Theodore Orji, at the Government House, Umuahia, last week, the President of the association, Chief Anab Atulomah, lamented the infrastructural decay of the school and solicited for government's partnership towards rebuilding it.Atulomah who traced the pedigree of the school as one of the surviving schools established to cater for the growing academic needs of the Igbo man, regretted that a long period of underfunding and neglect has put the institution in a deplorable state.He said: 'Today the National High School, Aba, does not have a fence with trespassers having a field day to the point that private operators use the school grounds for driving school lessons. The hostels, classrooms, laboratories and even the teachers' quarters are uninhabitable.'Atulomah informed the governor that the national convention of the National High School, Aba, Old Boys Association, is to hold in the institution from November 25 to November 27, 2011, to draw the attention of the Igbo leadership to the need to restore 'this legacy ' (Ibo) National High School, Aba, as proof of the Igbo man's tenacity and as a link to the visions of the founding fathers.'Going into history, Chief Atulomah, said that on December 18, 1948, the Rt. Hon. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe laid the foundation stone of (Ibo) National High School, Aba, as part of the vision of the leaders of Igbo State Union to establish a number of Grammar Schools across Nigeria. The National High School, Aba, is the only one surviving from such schools but is today threatened by dwindling funding and the general decay of Aba.He said that the association is prepared to partner with the state government to provide a conducive environment for teaching and learning.Responding, Orji said that he was impressed not just by the passion that the Old Boys had for the alma mater but also by their willingness to invest in the future of the school. He assured the delegation that the government would partner with them to rebuild the school. He urged the Old Boys to list the projects that they would handle and the government would complement their efforts.
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