Cross River State has received significant donor support to strengthen its education sector.

Over 312 students at Government Secondary School Atu in Calabar South Local Government Area are being forced to sit on bare floors during lessons, with many using window sills as makeshift writing surfaces due to a severe shortage of desks and basic educational infrastructure.

EXPOSED!!!

Attn,

Governor @officialspbo & Senator @A_Ekpenyong

We visited Government Secondary School Atu, Calabar South LGA, Cross River State and discovered that over 312 students sit on bare floors during lessons, using window sills as writing surfaces due to a severe… pic.twitter.com/7CgS29U71F

— MonITNG (@monitng) April 17, 2025

Monitng, a civic technology platform that visited the school located in Cross River South Senatorial District, noted that the area is currently represented by Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong, who also chairs the Senate Committee on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

Despite the clear signs of infrastructural decay, Monitng observed that no efforts had been made to attract or prioritise projects to provide desks, chairs, or renovate classrooms.

“Instead of addressing urgent educational needs, Senator Ekpenyong distributed 1,000 sewing and grinding machines on Friday, January 24, 2025, claiming to empower constituents,” the civic platform said.

“Unfortunately, reports indicate that most of these items went to party loyalists, while hundreds of students continue to learn in unsafe conditions.

“This neglect is not new. During Governor Ben Ayade’s administration, despite budgeting ₦38 billion for education in 2020, abandoned classroom blocks at the school were never completed or renovated.

“Successive budgets under Governor Bassey Otu, ₦296.9 billion in 2024 and ₦81 billion proposed for education in 2025, still haven’t resolved these basic infrastructure gaps.”

Cross River State has received significant donor support to strengthen its education sector. UNICEF and NIEPA are collaborating to develop an education sector plan aimed at eliminating the number of out-of-school children.

Additionally, Save the Children, in partnership with BIC, has provided learning materials to boost enrollment and retention.

Yet, schools like Atu remain neglected. Monitng called on the Governor of Cross River State, Bassey Edet Otu, and Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong to urgently provide desks, complete abandoned classroom blocks, and restore dignity to public education.

“The future of Cross River’s children cannot be built on neglect and politics as usual,” the platform stated.

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