As primary and secondary schools across Rivers State resume for the 2026/2027 academic session, students and teachers of Community Secondary School, Lueku, in Khana Local Government Area, have been unable to commence academic activities following the devastating flooding of the school premises.
The flood has reportedly submerged the entire school compound, including classrooms and administrative offices, making the facility inaccessible to both students and staff at a time when schools are expected to reopen for the new academic year.
The development has raised fresh concerns over the challenges confronting schools, particularly in rural communities, where shortage of teachers, inadequate learning materials, poor learning environments, dilapidated infrastructure, and natural disasters continue to affect effective teaching and learning.
At Community Secondary School, Lueku, the situation is particularly alarming, as floodwater has taken over the school premises, leaving classrooms and other facilities submerged.
Reacting to the situation, stakeholders and residents of Lueku Town have made an urgent appeal to the Rivers State Government to intervene and prevent the flood disaster from disrupting the education of children in the community.
Speaking on behalf of the stakeholders, Konee Barinaadaa described the situation as heartbreaking, noting that students who were prepared to resume school have been forced to remain at home because there is no safe environment for them to learn. He said the flood was not merely a problem of infrastructure, but a serious threat to the education and future of hundreds of children in Lueku and neighbouring communities.
According to the Konee, allowing the situation to persist could result in prolonged disruption of academic activities and further expose students to the risk of dropping out of school. He therefore appealed to the state government to provide immediate relief materials and make temporary learning arrangements for the affected students while permanent measures are being put in place.
The stakeholders also called for urgent renovation of the school and the implementation of effective flood-control measures to prevent a recurrence of the disaster. They further appealed for the replacement of textbooks, instructional materials and other learning resources reportedly destroyed by the flood.
The Lueku community expressed confidence in the commitment of the Rivers State Government to education and the welfare of its citizens, urging the government to treat the situation as an emergency. They stressed that urgent intervention was necessary to ensure that the future of children in the community is not compromised by the flood disaster.
