What once served as the educational backbone of Ogbadibo LGA in Benue State is now on life support. Public primary schools in Owukpa, once proud institutions that nurtured generations of doctors, lawyers, journalists, and professionals, are collapsing into abandonment and decay—now overrun by reptiles and silence.
CONFIRMNEWS toured several communities in Owukpa and found an educational emergency. In village after village, schools once brimming with life now sit deserted. Roofs have caved in. Classrooms are empty. Teachers have vanished. Pupils are nowhere to be found.
In LGEA Primary School Ikwo, a village bordering Enugu State, there isn’t a single pupil. Not one. Instead, snakes and lizards have taken over what used to be a vibrant center of learning. Established in the 1970s, the school has been reduced to rubble.
The situation is no better at LGEA Primary School Ekere Owukpa, founded in the 1950s. Today, it operates with just one teacher and barely any students. Clement ‘All-Rounder’ Ocheme, a retired education supervisor, says parents are abandoning public schools en masse.
“They don’t believe in public education anymore,” he told our reporter. “They’re turning to private schools in search of better futures for their children.”
Chief John Ameh Onuh, a traditional ruler and retired teacher, reminisced about the school’s glory days when over 500 pupils filled its classrooms. “Now we have fewer than 20,” he lamented. “And that number keeps falling. We’re watching our education system die in real time.”
Over at LGEA Primary School Achi Ugbugbu, there are no teachers at all. Just hollowed-out buildings and the echoes of what once was. Veteran educator Edwin ‘Dandy’ Apochi called it “pathetic,” saying the school has had no teachers for years.
At Udaburu, the picture is equally grim. Only two teachers remain, with a total of just three pupils—most of whom rarely show up. Chief Simon Idoko, the clan head, said the community has done all it can. “We’ve raised funds, hired volunteer teachers, and provided materials. But we can’t do it alone. This is a state emergency.”
Barr. David Mike Agada, an alumnus of LGEA Primary School Udaburu, is heartbroken by the decline. “I remember when our classrooms were so full that kids were turned away. Now, the school is in ruins. This isn’t just neglect—it’s betrayal.”
From Ejule to Okpudu, Atamaka, and beyond, every school tells the same tragic story. In Atamaka, rampant insecurity has forced even the last remaining teacher to flee after kidnappers struck nearby. In other areas like LGEA Ai-Fam (St Michael) and LGEA Ai-Ujah, no teachers are present at all, and the schools are barely standing.
The root of the collapse? Years of government negligence, policy reversals, and insecurity. In 2022, the Benue government under Governor Samuel Ortom hired new teachers, only for Governor Hyacinth Alia to reverse the appointments in 2023, sacking the newly recruited staff. The last major teacher recruitment in the state happened in 2007 under then-Governor George Akume—nearly two decades ago.
When contacted, the Benue State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) shifted responsibility to the Ministry of Education. Meanwhile, SUBEB Information Officer, Mr Emmanuel Agese, denied knowledge of the crisis entirely, stating, “There is no such situation in Owukpa to the knowledge of SUBEB.”
But the silence from government quarters contrasts sharply with the realities on ground—abandoned schools, ghost classrooms, vanishing pupils, and a growing generational crisis.
Education in Owukpa is dying. And unless the Benue State Government acts fast, these once-proud institutions will soon become just forgotten ruins in history books no one will be able to read.