A catastrophic event unfolded on Wednesday evening at Government Secondary School, Namnai, in Gassol Local Government Area of Taraba State, when an examination hall collapsed amidst a severe rainstorm, trapping students and staff inside.
The incident occurred around 6:00 PM, shortly after the second batch of students had commenced their West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). The sudden downpour, accompanied by strong winds, led to the structural failure of the aging classroom buildings.
Eyewitnesses reported that students, teachers, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members, and examination supervisors were caught under the debris. Local residents swiftly responded, rescuing the trapped individuals after several hours of effort.
Several students sustained varying degrees of injuries, including fractures to limbs. The injured were transported to a nearby Primary Healthcare Centre for immediate medical attention.
Alhaji DanAzumi Lauris, a resident of Namnai, recounted the event, stating, “It was the second set of students still writing their exams that got trapped. The first set had already finished and left. The rain came suddenly with strong winds, and the old classroom structures couldn’t withstand it.”
In addition to the school buildings, the storm also damaged several homes in the community.
In a related development, students in Jalingo, the state capital, were also affected by Wednesday’s heavy rainfall. Some candidates were forced to remain at their exam centres until after 1:00 AM, as the torrential rain made it impossible to return home earlier. There was also a reported late arrival of WAEC papers for the day, which caused delays in writing the exams until 8:00 PM when some centres received the papers.
Efforts to contact the Commissioner for Basic Education, Dr. Augustina Godwin, for comments were unsuccessful at the time of this report.
