The Nakpayili E-Block in the Nanumba South District of the Northern Region has finally been operationalised nearly a decade after its completion.

The facility, which houses the Nakpayili Senior High Technical School, has admitted its first batch of about 650 students after years of remaining unused.

The E-Block Community Day Senior High School initiative was introduced to make secondary education more accessible by bringing schools closer to communities across the country.

Although the Nakpayili E-Block was completed between 2017 and 2018, the facility remained abandoned for years, with the once-modern structure gradually deteriorating.

The situation has, however, changed this year, with the school officially added to the list of senior high schools available for placement under the Computerised School Selection and Placement System.

Classrooms have been completed, electricity and water have been connected, and the campus is now ready to support academic activities.

The school's first headmaster, Mohammed Ibrahim, said preparations were far advanced for the commencement of teaching and learning.

He said the school had engaged the Northern Regional Education Directorate, which had selected teachers to be posted to the school based on the programmes to be offered.

“From stakeholders, we have reached out to the Regional Director of Education in the Northern Region, and he has selected teachers to be posted to the school based on the programmes we are going to run. So we are starting with 16 teachers for the first year,” he said.

He said the school would request additional teachers as student numbers increase.

“When the teachers come, depending on the number of students, we'll keep on making a request for more teachers. And apart from the teachers, all is set. We have furniture in the school. There are beds for students who will come from outside the community,” he added.

The headmaster explained that the school would initially operate as a day school, in line with the original model for E-Block schools.

“Currently, we are starting as a day school because all E-Blocks are day schools,” he said.

For residents, the opening of the school represents more than an improvement in access to secondary education.

The Assembly Member for the Nakpayili Electoral Area described the development as a dream come true, saying the school was also expected to stimulate economic activity in the community.

“The community needs development, so the school is bringing development. The economic aspect of it, that one too, is going to come. We are going to have people selling in the school. We are going to have food vendors who will come here to sell food for school children, so definitely it is going to have a positive impact on the community,” he said.

Meanwhile, work is continuing on additional infrastructure to support the school's operations.

Ongoing projects include dormitory blocks for boys and girls, a multi-purpose dining hall, an administration block and staff accommodation.

The contractor, Chief Sofo Azoka, assured that the additional facilities would be completed within the next five months.

“These six projects are the dormitories for boys and girls, the multi-purpose dining hall and administration block, and teachers' quarters. So we are making sure that in 5 months, we can complete it,” he said.

The completion of the additional facilities is expected to further expand the school's capacity and provide the infrastructure required to support its long-term operations.