Old Students’ Association of Government Commercial College (GCC), Zaria has called on the Kaduna State government to recover the school’s encroached land.
The Association decried that the college was facing some challenges that may bring its existence to an end due to massive encroachment of its land.
The President of the Association, Alhaji Aminu Turaki, made the appeal in an Interview with the Radio Nigerian in Zaria on Thursday.
Lamenting over the situation, Turaki said the association was aware of the problems and they are doing everything possible to liaise with relevant stakeholders to address them.
He However, commends Gov. Nasir El-Rufai for approving the rehabilitation of the school, which according to him, work is currently at an extremely slow pace, as this is about the third year since the commencement of the rehabilitation work and not much is being achieved.
“If the school is fenced, it will give confidence to parents to allow their wards to stay in the school as boarding students.
“We are also trying to make the state government see a reason to allow the school to run boarding and day sessions. This In our view, will bring more students to the school, especially from the neighbouring communities.
“This used to be the system before the decision to turn the school to boarding only.
“If government insists on retaining GCC as a boarding school, then the necessary facilities that will attract students have to be in place,’’ he said.
Alhaji Aminu Turaki said the college had been graduating students since the 1970s, and some of them were presented in our fold; noting that it would be a great setback if the government allows it to go into extinction.
He described GCC as peers to Barewa, Alhudahuda and many prominent schools in the state, and also reechoed the imperatives of reclaiming its encroached land.
Radio Nigeria’s findings revealed that the major threat the college was now facing is the trespassing on a large chunk of its land for the establishment of a day school.
Attempts to speak with the school’s principal and other officials failed, as all of them cited their status of civil servants who are not allowed to talk to the media.
COV/Ibrahim Suleiman
