History of Emmanuel Anglican Secondary School

It is a common knowledge that the history of schools up to mid-sixties closely followed the establishment and growth of churches. This is true of Emmanuel Anglican Secondary School and Emmanuel Church. The church land was purchased in 1965. Therefore the mission started a primary school which had classes up to standard three. Church worship took place in the school block and continued until the Nigerian Civil War which lasted between July, 1967 and January, 1970. The post war development has given birth to spectacular and fruitful products. At the cessation of hostilities, the school reopened. Then the state Government took over all schools in the state. The school has now grown to an enviable standard under the state government control. And the church grew simultaneously. On June 19, 1974; Rev. Captain L.C. okeke (later very Rev.), the provost of St. Bartholomew's Cathedral, Asata Enugu, declared the permission to start a formal church service there. That took place during an inaugural service before more than 200 worshippers. The growth of Emmanuel Church like the mustard seed raised the number of parishioners exceedingly. Hopes and aspirations broke loose and yielded what can be seen today as a gigantic structure –a 3- storey edifice towering over and above the tall buildings in the close neighbourhood, christened" Bishop Otubelu Resource Centre" Emmanuel Anglican Secondary School sprang off in the historic Resource centre. The school is a baby idea of Emmanuel church with many actors on the stage. The greatest dramatic personnel in the establishment of Emmanuel Anglican Secondary School deserve a place in the chronology of this historical record. The project called resource centre took off under Ven. S.C.A Chukwuka (now the Rtd. Bishop of Isikwuato Missionary Diocese). His successor, Ven. C.C Nweke organized further the idea of a secondary school mobilized resources to give the project a practical expression. Ven. T.N. Chigbo was the vicar of the church when the school took off. It was in his days that the pioneer principal, Late Sir F.A Ofoezie was appointed, the first set of staff were recruited and the first set of students were admitted. Academic activities took off on the 16th September, 2002. He was actually the pioneer chairman of the school management committee It is very worthy of note that "Otubelu Resource Centre" was originally conceived and planned for a secondary school. In fact, then the commissioner for Education, works and Housing, Prof. E. Adibe, visited and inspected the site. He commended the effort of the church towards the effective and eloquent participation in the running of educational institutions. On 23rd September, 2002, His Lordship, Rt. Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Olisa chukwuma, the Anglican Bishop of Enugu Diocese, graciously opened the day coeducational Secondary School. The next chairman of the school Management Committee was Ven. A.N.C Orah. He met the school faced with accommodation problems. He conceived the idea of building a permanent site for the school. He fought seriously and recovered the former church hall which was occupied by Achara Layout Primary Schools. He nursed and designed school block building. He was not able to start off the project before his transfer to another church. His transfer brought Ven.L.C. Ojih into the scene who showed great love for the school. He moved the P.C.C. and the School Management Committee to establish the four storey school block on the area occupied by the aforementioned former church hall. Within four years, he was able to bring the building to near conclusion. In a nutshell, he began the building from the scratch, rounded off the block works and brought the building to the roofing stage. The Ven. Dr. Honest Gad-Nwosu took over from Ven. L. C. Ojih in 2010 as the chairman of the school Management Committee. The building was roofed, painted and dedicated in his days. His innovative skill really moved the school to greater heights as it concerns administrations, teaching and learning activities. The present school management committee chairman is Ven. G. B. Ezeabii. He took over the office in 2013. The Ven. G. B. Ezeabii has great love for the school and youths. He was one time diocesan youth chaplain. He never hesitates in supporting and encouraging any programme /activities that are meant to improve teaching and learning. In his few months in office, he renovated the school building, encouraged us to have orientation, inter-house sports and career talk programme. It is in his tenure that the school established ICT office that allows the school to register for the external examination within the school. He has encouraged us to hook up with Linkskool portal for all internet facilities. This innovation will help our students to get their termly results online using scratch cards. Late Sir F. A. Ofoezie was the pioneer principal of the school. He tirelessly worked for the good of the school. He bought the school to an enviable height before his sudden death that took place on the 4th of January, 2010. His demise created a vacancy which brought his successor, Mr. Uwaechina T. C. into the scene as the second principal of the school. He has occupied the office till now. The history of the school will not be complete without mentioning the input of the Diocesan Education Board headed by Prof. Sir. F. C. Eze. The Diocesan Education Secretary, Ven. D. Agbo is always there for us. Worthy to be mentioned are the contributions of the P.T.A. –the computer laboratory, the school band. The white magnetic boards, etc were made available by them. The pioneer P. T. A. Chairman was Chief A. Onwudiwe, succeeded by Sir Obi Ofoegbu. The current P. T. A. chairman is Engr. Ben Enemo. Emmanuel – God with us.