There was outrage in Enugu after a
Facebook post showed pupils of a
private nursery and primary school ,
Early Dew Montessori Academy ,
Enugu , aged between four and seven
years, in a police van, purportedly
arrested for failing to do their
assignments, and also for wearing
dirty uniforms .
The incident took place in the school
on February 16 .The picture , said to have been posted
on Facebook by a parent of one of the
pupils in the school , was reportedly
captioned ‘Enugu State Government
police in conjunction with Early Dew
Montessori Primary School, GRA
Enugu , arresting 4 to 7 year - olds and
putting them behind a Hilux – the
same place they put dead bodies , and
where they could have jumped out
from fearfully , for not doing their
assignments’.
The caption suggested that Enugu State
Government was involved in the
affair , a development which drew the
ire of the Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi -
led administration .
The government immediately moved to
correct the impression , and on
Monday, February 20 , suspended the
operations of the school .
The school is currently being
threatened with permanent closure.
Commissioner for Education, Professor
Uche Eze , who announced sanctions
against the school , described the
development as ‘an embarrassment to
the state government and a serious
psychological abuse of the concerned
children’ .
Besides the suspension , the school
management was also ordered to
apologise, in writing , to the state
government, parents of the ‘ abused ’
children, and the entire people of
Enugu State . These measures have to
be carried out before the suspension
could be lifted . Failure to do so , the
school will be closed , permanently .
The commissioner said the measures
would serve as a warning to other
private schools in the state who adopt
‘unethical practices ’ in the name of
corporal punishment .
But the woman in the eye of the storm ,
the proprietress of the school, also
known as ‘ school mummy ’, Mrs Ify
Okonkwo , has blamed the entire
episode on misunderstanding.
According to her , the ‘invitation ’ of
the police, the ‘arrest ’ of the erring
pupils, and their placement in the
police van, were all part of an
arranged ‘stunt ’ that was meant to
discourage indiscipline , and also instill
hardwork and good conduct among
pupils in the school .
Okonkwo said she collaborated with
some parents to execute the stunt ,
adding that she was the one that
shared pictures of the incident on a
Whatsap forum she created for parents
of pupils in the school .
Addressing journalists , Okonkwo , who
was in company with parents of some
of the pupils in the school, said the
incident was stage , managed , as the
pupils were merely told to get on the
back of the van, where they were
made to pledge to be of better
behaviour.
The proprietress said , “ Being an
educationist, what happened in the
school on February 16 was to
encourage the children to be focused. I
brought the police to come and talk to
the children and to motivate them to
read on their own without being
pushed.
“ In my mind , I thought I was doing it
to bring the children up in a way that
they will be attached to their studies .
No child was manhandled neither did
they point a gun at any of the
children.
“ I was the person that took the
pictures and we have a group chat I
opened for parents as one family to
brief them on the school’ s activities .
“ When I took this action , I posted it
(pictures) on the platform, with the
caption ‘Some children were arrested
today for not doing their homework ,
for not reading their books , for not
behaving well , but they promised to
change ’.
“ I didn’t mean any harm; I meant well
for the kids . If not , I wouldn ’t have
made it public – it would have been
between me and the teachers. ”
Okonkwo said the parents commended
her when she posted pictures of the
incident on the Whatsap forum .
“ When I uploaded it on the platform,
parents were commending me, ” she
said , although she added that the
particular parent who in turn posted
the pictures on Facebook with the
‘mischievous’ caption , has issues with
the school management .
Insisting that the pupils were not
actually arrested , the proprietress said ,
“ I am aware that those children are
still minors and no offence they
committed would warrant an arrest .
So how do you think that those
children were arrested? Who will have
that kind of heart to arrest these little
children?”
One of the parents, Mrs Jessica
Nnamani, corroborated the
proprietress’ claims.
Nnamani said she was at the school on
the day of the incident , and played a
role in the ‘ drama’.
She said , “ I am one of the parents in
the school . On that day, I came to the
school to give my son who is not well
his hourly drug . When I got to the
school I saw some kids that morning
who were looking very dirty . When I
saw that, I wasn ’t happy , as a mother
who would want her kids to look clean
and I turned to the school mummy
and asked , ‘ Where are those children
coming from ? Did their parents bring
them here this morning looking this
way ?’
“ I was disappointed .
“ She told me that she had a plan on
how to deal with people that come to
the school looking dirty, the stubborn
ones and those that are not doing their
homework.
“ She then told me the drama she
wanted to do, that I should help to
stage manage it very well .
“ She invited police and when they
came, all the children that were dirty,
those that were stubborn and those
that weren ’t doing their home
assignments were brought out at
around 9 : 00 am and they were told
that the police were going to take them
to Abuja, unless they promised to be
coming to school clean , to be obedient,
and also ready to do their home
assignment.
“ I played the intercessory role by
begging the ‘school mummy ’ to tamper
justice with mercy , promising that they
would change . I said , “ School mummy ’
please don ’t take them away , they will
change ” . I then asked them , ‘Okay, are
you people promising school mummy
that you will do well from now on ?’
They all said yes. ”
Continuing , she said , “ They (pupils )
were rather laughing . They (police )
now took them behind the van – it was
then they started begging .
“ If I should say , she (proprietress )
didn’t mean any harm . As a parent , I
supported what she did . She did it in
the interest of the pupils. ”
The woman said she uses a similar
approach to discipline her kids .
Nnamani added , “ When my child
proves stubborn and I drive them to a
police checkpoint , I will bring that one
out and ask police to take him and
punish him because he is stubborn,
and you will see him dragging my
clothes begging that he will not do such
a thing again , that he will change , and
police will tell him “ Make sure that
your mum doesn’ t bring you here
again ” .
Be that as it may , the school remains
closed, until further notice.
Meanwhile, the school management
has apologised to Enugu State
government. The apology was
conveyed in a letter addressed to the
commissioner fovr education . ‘’ We
promise and undertake that such will
never happen again , and appeal mostv
humbly that the closure of the school
be lifted so that our children are not
affected negatively by the continued
closure of the school ,’’ parts of the
letter said .
There was outrage in Enugu after a
Facebook post showed pupils of a
private nursery and primary school ,
Early Dew Montessori Academy ,
Enugu , aged between four and seven
years, in a police van, purportedly
arrested for failing to do their
assignments, and also for wearing
dirty uniforms .
The incident took place in the school
on February 16 .The picture , said to have been posted
on Facebook by a parent of one of the
pupils in the school , was reportedly
captioned ‘Enugu State Government
police in conjunction with Early Dew
Montessori Primary School, GRA
Enugu , arresting 4 to 7 year - olds and
putting them behind a Hilux – the
same place they put dead bodies , and
where they could have jumped out
from fearfully , for not doing their
assignments’.
The caption suggested that Enugu State
Government was involved in the
affair , a development which drew the
ire of the Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi -
led administration .
The government immediately moved to
correct the impression , and on
Monday, February 20 , suspended the
operations of the school .
The school is currently being
threatened with permanent closure.
Commissioner for Education, Professor
Uche Eze , who announced sanctions
against the school , described the
development as ‘an embarrassment to
the state government and a serious
psychological abuse of the concerned
children’ .
Besides the suspension , the school
management was also ordered to
apologise, in writing , to the state
government, parents of the ‘ abused ’
children, and the entire people of
Enugu State . These measures have to
be carried out before the suspension
could be lifted . Failure to do so , the
school will be closed , permanently .
The commissioner said the measures
would serve as a warning to other
private schools in the state who adopt
‘unethical practices ’ in the name of
corporal punishment .
But the woman in the eye of the storm ,
the proprietress of the school, also
known as ‘ school mummy ’, Mrs Ify
Okonkwo , has blamed the entire
episode on misunderstanding.
According to her , the ‘invitation ’ of
the police, the ‘arrest ’ of the erring
pupils, and their placement in the
police van, were all part of an
arranged ‘stunt ’ that was meant to
discourage indiscipline , and also instill
hardwork and good conduct among
pupils in the school .
Okonkwo said she collaborated with
some parents to execute the stunt ,
adding that she was the one that
shared pictures of the incident on a
Whatsap forum she created for parents
of pupils in the school .
Addressing journalists , Okonkwo , who
was in company with parents of some
of the pupils in the school, said the
incident was stage , managed , as the
pupils were merely told to get on the
back of the van, where they were
made to pledge to be of better
behaviour.
The proprietress said , “ Being an
educationist, what happened in the
school on February 16 was to
encourage the children to be focused. I
brought the police to come and talk to
the children and to motivate them to
read on their own without being
pushed.
“ In my mind , I thought I was doing it
to bring the children up in a way that
they will be attached to their studies .
No child was manhandled neither did
they point a gun at any of the
children.
“ I was the person that took the
pictures and we have a group chat I
opened for parents as one family to
brief them on the school’ s activities .
“ When I took this action , I posted it
(pictures) on the platform, with the
caption ‘Some children were arrested
today for not doing their homework ,
for not reading their books , for not
behaving well , but they promised to
change ’.
“ I didn’t mean any harm; I meant well
for the kids . If not , I wouldn ’t have
made it public – it would have been
between me and the teachers. ”
Okonkwo said the parents commended
her when she posted pictures of the
incident on the Whatsap forum .
“ When I uploaded it on the platform,
parents were commending me, ” she
said , although she added that the
particular parent who in turn posted
the pictures on Facebook with the
‘mischievous’ caption , has issues with
the school management .
Insisting that the pupils were not
actually arrested , the proprietress said ,
“ I am aware that those children are
still minors and no offence they
committed would warrant an arrest .
So how do you think that those
children were arrested? Who will have
that kind of heart to arrest these little
children?”
One of the parents, Mrs Jessica
Nnamani, corroborated the
proprietress’ claims.
Nnamani said she was at the school on
the day of the incident , and played a
role in the ‘ drama’.
She said , “ I am one of the parents in
the school . On that day, I came to the
school to give my son who is not well
his hourly drug . When I got to the
school I saw some kids that morning
who were looking very dirty . When I
saw that, I wasn ’t happy , as a mother
who would want her kids to look clean
and I turned to the school mummy
and asked , ‘ Where are those children
coming from ? Did their parents bring
them here this morning looking this
way ?’
“ I was disappointed .
“ She told me that she had a plan on
how to deal with people that come to
the school looking dirty, the stubborn
ones and those that are not doing their
homework.
“ She then told me the drama she
wanted to do, that I should help to
stage manage it very well .
“ She invited police and when they
came, all the children that were dirty,
those that were stubborn and those
that weren ’t doing their home
assignments were brought out at
around 9 : 00 am and they were told
that the police were going to take them
to Abuja, unless they promised to be
coming to school clean , to be obedient,
and also ready to do their home
assignment.
“ I played the intercessory role by
begging the ‘school mummy ’ to tamper
justice with mercy , promising that they
would change . I said , “ School mummy ’
please don ’t take them away , they will
change ” . I then asked them , ‘Okay, are
you people promising school mummy
that you will do well from now on ?’
They all said yes. ”
Continuing , she said , “ They (pupils )
were rather laughing . They (police )
now took them behind the van – it was
then they started begging .
“ If I should say , she (proprietress )
didn’t mean any harm . As a parent , I
supported what she did . She did it in
the interest of the pupils. ”
The woman said she uses a similar
approach to discipline her kids .
Nnamani added , “ When my child
proves stubborn and I drive them to a
police checkpoint , I will bring that one
out and ask police to take him and
punish him because he is stubborn,
and you will see him dragging my
clothes begging that he will not do such
a thing again , that he will change , and
police will tell him “ Make sure that
your mum doesn’ t bring you here
again ” .
Be that as it may , the school remains
closed, until further notice.
Meanwhile, the school management
has apologised to Enugu State
government. The apology was
conveyed in a letter addressed to the
commissioner fovr education . ‘’ We
promise and undertake that such will
never happen again , and appeal mostv
humbly that the closure of the school
be lifted so that our children are not
affected negatively by the continued
closure of the school ,’’ parts of the
letter said .
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