No fewer than a dozen students writing the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) at Government Secondary School, Namnai, in Gassol Local Government Area of Taraba State, narrowly escaped death on Wednesday evening when their classrooms collapsed during a heavy downpour accompanied by a violent windstorm.
The incident, which occurred around 6pm, left several students, teachers, corps members, and external supervisors trapped under the collapsed structures. They were eventually rescued by community members who rushed to the scene.
Many students sustained injuries of varying degrees, with some reportedly suffering broken limbs. The injured victims are currently receiving medical attention at a nearby Primary Healthcare Centre in Namnai town.
A resident of the area, Alhaji DanAzumi Lauris, who spoke to newsmen, confirmed the incident, explaining that the collapse happened while the second batch of students was still sitting for their exam.
“It was the second group still writing that got trapped. The first batch had already finished and left before the storm started,” he said.
He attributed the collapse to the poor state of the school buildings, which he said could not withstand the force of the storm. Lauris added that the windstorm also destroyed several houses in the community.
In a related development, the heavy rainfall that swept through parts of the state also affected students in Jalingo, the state capital. Many candidates were stranded at their examination centres and could not return home until after 1am due to the torrential rain.
There were also reports of delay in the delivery of Wednesday’s WAEC paper to some centres in Jalingo, forcing candidates to start their exams as late as 8pm.
Efforts to reach the Taraba State Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Dr. Augustina Godwin, for comments were unsuccessful, as her phone line was switched off at the time of filing this report.
