RAPHEL EDE writes on the plight of pupils of the Idaw River Primary School, 1, Enugu SouthLocal Government Area of Enugu State, whose classroom roof fell and injured 10 of them

Teachers and pupils of Idaw River Primary School 1 don’t pray for rain because whenever it rains, they scoop water from their classrooms.

On the premises, there are three other schools, Idaw River Primary Schools 2, 3 and 4. None of them is spared from the problem of bad buildings, but one of the buildings in Idaw River Primary School 1 can best be described as a death trap.

On June 23, 2021, Master Chinedu Arinze, a primary six pupil of Idaw River Primary school, 1, escaped death by whisker when a dilapidated roof collapsed on over 70 pupils in a classroom.

The falling roof broke Arinze’s right hand and he suffered other injuries when a plank fell on him.

Ten other schoolchildren were also reported to have sustained varying degrees of injury during the incident.

The PUNCH gathered that the incident happened when the children were scooping water that flooded their classroom during a heavy rainfall that fateful day.