Some residents of Agu-Awka in Awka Local Government Area of Anambra State have decried the absence of public primary and secondary schools in the area.
It could be recalled that on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, parents and guardians of a Catholic Church-owned nursery and primary school protested against a 43% fee increase arbitrary imposed by the management before the third term session began.
The protesters maintained that the absence of the public schools has denied them access to the state government’s free education policy, while appealing to the Governor of the State, Charles Soludu to establish public schools in the densely populated area in the heart of the capital town.
One of the residents, Chinedu Okeke, explained that residents of Agu-Awka are compelled to patronize private and mission schools despite the state government’s free education programme, as this was caused by the total absence of public schools in the area.
” Agu-Awka hosts the old Government House, estates, Commissioners’ Quarters, Nwakpadolu Estate and the stretch from Immigration Junction to Book Foundation along Esther Obiakor Road, had no government-owned schools”, he said.
Also speaking, another resident, Emeka Nwosu, hinted on the population and land mass of the area, that could be used in building public schools, but rather are handed over to private developers.
“The available open spaces that could have been used for schools were been taken over by private developers,and there are no public primary and secondary schools on the Onitsha-bound lane of the expressway between Aroma Junction and UNIZK”, Nwosu said.
He further described the situation as unacceptable, noting that the area had more than 20 private secondary schools and over 30 private primary schools, without a single government-owned school.