Alarm has been raised to the increased incidence of students from Queen’s College Yaba falling ill.
The PUNCH reports that a student of the school is being admitted in one general hospital or the other on a daily basis.
A parent, whose child had been admitted at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, for about a week, revealed that no fewer than 15 pupils of the school were receiving treatment in LUTH.
She said, “My daughter did not show any symptom until about two weeks ago. We took her to a private clinic in our area, where she stayed for five days without any improvement.”
“Then, we took her to a standard hospital where some consultants battled with the infection. After I had spent about N150,000, I was advised to take her to LUTH.”
“In LUTH, I saw a lot of Queen’s College parents with their children. We were about 15 in number. Just yesterday, they brought a girl in school uniform.
“She was brought by her parents directly from the school. Unfortunately, while some of our children are struggling to survive, the school is trying to manage its reputation by lying that all is well.”
“They are bringing pupils on a daily basis. The school authority and the Federal Ministry of Education are paying lip service to this unfolding incident.”
The parent and other parents with children in the school called on the Federal Government to recall a former principal of the school, Dr Lami Amodu, to face criminal charges for negligence and the death of two pupils of the school.
It is noteworthy to recall that many pupils of the school had diarrhoea after eating spaghetti and water, said to have been contaminated.
A teacher in the school had disclosed to our correspondent that one-fourth of the school population had been and were initially admitted at the school’s sick bay.
Two pupils of the school–Vivian Osuiniyi and Bithia Itulua – were reported to have died after being taken away for proper treatments at home.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, had released a statement, saying health records from the school’s sick bay indicated that the illness started on 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.
Idris had advised an indefinite suspension of academic activities in the school.
The Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, was reported to have asked the school’s new principal, Mrs. Bola Are, to cease plans for the resumption of the school.