One of the attributes of every academic environment is freedom from both internal and external threat which involves but not limited to insecurity and series of infections that are communicable and not communicable in nature; the management of Kogi State University in corroboration with the state government has not relented as efforts are being made daily to ensure that both the human and material resources of Kogi state university are well organized and utilized properly under a more secured, infection-free and conducive atmosphere for the purpose of effective and easy learning.
This can be deduced from the fact that since Kogi state university was established in 1999, the responsibility of protecting and managing the lives and properties of the institution has always been at the forefront of the management’s desk in fulfillment of the adequate security and health measures that are clearly stated and reviewed frequently in the institution’s blueprint.
However, despite the various efforts of both the school management and the state government to ensure that the students and staff of the institution operate under a threat-free environment, the institution is still said to be faced with lack of proper maintenance which has given access to rats that are infectious and deadly to human health, which many believed to have resulted to health challenges within the school environment.
Research has shown that rats are the major facilitator and carrier of infections and deadly diseases like Lassa Fever, Leptospirosis, Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome, Plague, Rat-Bite Fever, Lymphocytic Chorio-meningitis (LCM), etc.
When what you don’t want to see at your back comes to host a show at your forehead, then there is need for proactive reaction for an immediate remedy. Kogi state university has come a long way and has been known for a good reputation in terms of academic excellence, character orientated and good management which is a core fulfillment of the vision of the school.
However, this long acquired reputation cannot be retained if the institution’s management closes its eyes and ears to lack of maintenance and improper sanitary programmes which has been proven to be one of the major facilitators of rats in hostels and classrooms that can cause and spread infections and deadly disease.
However, observation has shown that there seems to be an overcrowded cohabitation among same-sex students and insufficient spaces in hostels and lecture rooms which many believed to be one of the reasons why adequate maintenance within the school is difficult to achieve with ease but this can be controlled if proper maintenance and environmental sanitation are carried out regularly.
What will be the reaction of a parent who sent his or her child to come and acquire knowledge in school but the child later returns to the parent with deadly disease and series if infections due to negligence of some group of individuals? The unit in charge of environmental sanitation and maintenance in Kogi state university should be awake to their tasks and dethrone every facilitator of rats and other disease carriers; making sure that students and lecturers’ tastes as regards to their unit are satisfied.
In relations to this, hostels’ rooms and toilets should be cleaned daily, lecturers’ offices irrespective of their position should be attended to and ensure that they are free from dirt; what is the beauty of an air conditioned structure saturated with cobweb? Cobweb should be removed from class rooms and lecture halls so as to give the students and lecturers an environment that is free from infection and safe for learning. If this is not done, the activities of rats and other rodents may start chasing and abusing both the lecturers and students of the institution which will in turn affect the school management and bring down the precious reputation of the institution.
Furthermore, every other unit especially the unit responsible for health matters should join hands with the maintenance unit and corroborate with the school management and health practitioners in order to ensure that every student is medically tested at intervals and made free from infection; this is necessary because in an academic environment, health is the wealth of knowledge.
On the part of the students, all hands must be on deck to keep the school environment clean; recently, Dangana male students understood that prevention is better than cure, and has demonstrated their patriotism in terms of environmental sanitation as an act of keeping the school environment clean. On this wise, the female hostels students should consider this as a good practice and a challenge to also organize themselves for public cleaning. This will not only keep the school environment clean but will also save the students from health challenges.
As a student, you may say it doesn’t concerns you because some group of people are being paid to do the job but remember that when the boat sinks it’s doesn’t know who is King as everybody will get wet. Staying in the midst of infected people is as good as patronizing infection unknowingly; the effect of lack of proper maintenance and inactive environmental sanitation in an environment of over twenty-three thousand students and over five thousand workers, is very costly and as such, it shouldn’t be gambled with, especially among people that claim to be learned.
Finally, the state government who has always been the pioneer of quality education in the state should join hands with TETFUND and other organizations in order to ensure that more hostels, lecture halls, classrooms and every other necessary building are erected for students use. This will not only help in promotion and space management but will also help in prevention of over crowdedness that can lead to spread of infections and deadly diseases among students and lecturers; and also add to the beauty and status of the institution which will in turn promote the state.
– Ozovehe Moses
Student, Kogi State University, Anyigba
