By Balogun Mabamije
As schools in Delta state remain under lock and key due to the increasing numbers of coronavirus infection in the state, and in the country at large, most secondary school students have taken to apprenticeship in one trade or the other to kill idleness.
A survey carried out by our correspondent who went round Ughelli metropolis and environs showed that most beautification centers have young female apprentices between the ages of 12-16 years, who are secondary school students.
According to one of the apprentices, Miss Rejoice Oru, of the “Sophie Beauty World,” Affiesere, she was tired of sitting at home hence her parents decided to sign her up with the vocational centre in the meantime.
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Miss Oru complained that the continual sitting at home had adverse negative impact on the lives of most students, especially the girl child, saying that the “idle mind is the devil’s workshop.”
She attributed the rise in rape cases and criminality in the society to idleness and urged the youths to get a trade for themselves, which they could hold on to in the future. “I want to advise youths to, at this time, pick up something like a trade for themselves and kill idleness,” she stressed.
Miss Oru also appealed to Deltans to comply with directives of the state government to stop the spread of the coronavirus in the state for schools to reopen, saying that the continual closure of schools in the country could create academic apathy in the minds of the youths.
Another student of Afiesere Secondary School, Rukevwe, a 16-year-old SS1 student who signed for Auto Mechanic, equates time to money and advised against unnecessary waste of time.
“I decided to take up auto mechanic for the mean time to keep me busy because it is not good to sit at home doing nothing. You see time is money so we need to make good use of our time,” he stated.
Master Rukevwe who advised youths to keep themselves busy at this time by taking up a relevant trade that could add meaning to their future, said he missed his friends at school and appealed to government to open schools as soon as possible.
An Ughelli based auto mechanic, Mr. David Ototahor, in his remarks, described learning as everyday affair, saying that the closure of schools for a long time would spell doom for the Pupils and the nation.
Mr Ototahor who has many apprentices amongst whom are secondary school students, advised residents to follow the measures put in place by the state government to check the spread of the coronavirus in the state.
