The Lagos State Government has advised that the Queen’s College, Yaba, be shut down indefinitely for a proper treatment of the water system in the sch
The Lagos State Government has advised that the Queen’s College, Yaba, be shut down indefinitely for a proper treatment of the water system in the school. The state Ministry of Health said results from samples taken from water sources in the school showed that the water is polluted, adding that the school’s food handlers were also culpable. This is just as some parents have threatened to take legal action against the school, saying someone must be held responsible for the two deaths in the college.
Recall that a few weeks ago, no fewer than 50 boarding pupils of the school were admitted in the school’s sickbay after eating spaghetti and drinking water in the refectory. Vivian Osuiniyi and Bithia Itulua, both of who were in Junior Secondary School two and three respectively, died as a result of the epidemic. The school’s principal, Dr Lami Amodu, was later transferred to another school in Edo State. The school had been shut for the past two weeks to enable a health team to conduct adequate investigation into the incident.
It was learnt that the pupils were to resume on Sunday, March 19, when the Lagos State Government issued a statement recommending an indefinite closure of the school. The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris stated that health records from the school’s sickbay indicated that the date of illness was January 16, 2017, adding that a total of 1,222 pupils presented themselves at the school’s clinic on account of abdominal pain, fever, vomiting and diarrhoea.
He noted that 16 pupils were admitted in various hospitals, adding that nine had been discharged, two dead, while one was still on admission at the Intensive Care Unit of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, and three in Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi Araba. For this, the Health commissioner is recommending the suspension of the school’s resumption as it is necessary to ensure that all the sources of contaminants in the school, which had been causing the death of students, are properly handled.
Some parents have called for a sanction of the school’s management for failing to prevent the outbreak. A parent, whose daughter fell ill during the midterm break, said parents might take legal action against the school. He said he had spent about N70,000 on the treatment of his daughter, who is in Senior Secondary School two.
“The government cannot afford to play the ostrich. If they don’t secure the children’s source of water, the death toll may rise. And we don’t even know how many have lost their lives during this break. My daughter is still on the edge as I speak.”
Apparently, the septic tank of the school is not far from the school’s drinking water. Another parent faulted the Parent-Teacher Association for joining the school’s former principal to deny the problem.
“They sent text messages to parents, saying there was no epidemic. Things are happening and instead of us to do something, we are denying. Maybe if we had acted early enough, lives would have been saved. I paid N20,000 for the PTA levy to hire more sanitation workers and clean the water, and this is what we get? Somebody has to pay for this. You are a principal of a school and you couldn’t do anything? Do you know what it means to lose a child? Some parents are going through hell right now. I am crying. I am in pains. Until somebody sues Queen’s College, nobody will know what is going on,” he said.
