STUDENTS of LEA Primary School in Bagusa Village in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) are currently experiencing hard conditions that significantly impede their educational experience on a daily basis.
Founded in March 2020, the school is one of the 156 public Local Education Authority (LEA) Primary Schools situated in the Abuja Municipal Area Council.
LEA Primary School in Bagusa-FCT received approval from the Federal Capital Territory Administration’s Universal Basic Education Board, following a thorough evaluation, ensuring compliance with established procedures.
Despite its establishment over three years ago and a student population of three hundred and eighty-nine, the primary school faces a stark reality that makes learning difficult for the children in the community.
The school does not have a dedicated block of classrooms for pupils, let alone basic facilities that aid learning, yet it operates on a regular schedule with classes taking place from Monday to Friday, similar to other public primary schools in the FCT.
During a visit to the school on Friday, October 13, AbujaCommunity observed that the school is situated nearby a dumpsite.
Pupils study beneath a makeshift shed constructed with wood and zinc, without coverings on all sides, exposing the children to the harsh sun of Abuja and unanticipated rain.
The shared space for teachers and students is also a habitat for various crawling creatures such as rodents, snakes, insects, scorpions and alligators, posing risks to their safety.
The makeshift shed is located just a few meters away from a dumpsite that emits pungent smell.
The dire situation not only affects the physical well-being of the students but also hinders their ability to focus in the class, say the teachers.
The reporter observed pupils struggling for space on a few chairs and desks, and a large mat on the floor, while others had to sit on the sandy floor due to insufficient seating.
“As you can see, there is no classroom building, no board. Even teachers don’t have desks and chairs,” Mrs. Grace Pada, the assistant head teacher, said with a concerned expression.
“Because there is no door or window, the space is accessible to every passerby. Scavengers often stray into the class to pick items, causing distractions for the pupils,” she added.
Mr. Alfred Katungu, the headteacher of LEA Primary School, Bagusa-FCT, expressed frustration, stating that efforts to secure learning facilities for the students have been unsuccessful.
He wrote several letters to FCT-UBEB regarding their situation, especially when facing a notice to vacate the land they are currently using. Copies of the letters were sent to the LEA and the Executive Chairman of AMAC along with documents from the court.
The head teacher had also written a series of letters to the FCT’s Universal Basic Education Board (FCT UBEB), Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Local Education Authority to address the predicament of the school.
“When they (FCT UBEB) inquired why a school that has approval lacks building structure, LEA responded them with a letter of approval for the school. Hence, they posted teachers to this place.
“We have even graduated three sets of students who are in different secondary schools now, we have all letters backing our legality. We have been trained,” Katunga says, showing the school census document.
Katungu however emphasized his confusion over the lack of action by the FCTA, stating, “I don’t know why nothing has been done; we have been captured, but I don’t know what is happening presently.”
AbujaCommunity independently verified that LEA Primary School is captured in the Education Management System.
Idera Edu Ele, the executive director of Bonnicare Foundation, a rural-oriented non-governmental organization was alarmed hearing about a public school in the Nigeria’s seat of power without basic educational facilities.
Though poor delivery of social services cut across all 36 states of the federation, Ele expressed dismay at the deplorable condition of LEA Primary Bagusa in Abuja.
“It is disheartening that the future leaders are expected to learn in such a sorry state, especially in the nation’s capital.”
She urged the government to equip schools in need of intervention rather than approving establishments without ensuring provision for essential teaching materials and structures.
“If a school is opened and approved, it should be adequately funded with essential amenities such as conducive classrooms and learning materials.”
Community leaders foot N300,000 bill for rent despite multi-million naira allocation for school infrastructure
When the school began operation in 2020, teachers were deployed to ensure that learning takes place in the school, but there was no single structure on ground.
So a resident leased his apartment to the school for three months, hoping the government would make a provision for a place soon. But that did not happen.
“We stayed in the building longer than two years against our agreement. We were eventually given a quit notice,” Katungu said.
Asked how the school was able to afford the annual cost of seven classrooms, he disclosed that a sum of one thousand naira was introduced, out of which one hundred and fifty thousand naira was paid annually as rent.
When they were evicted from the building, the school appropriated an open space near a dumpsite.
“Currently we are sitting on top of a huge pile of refuse; it is like 3 feet down,” the headmaster said.
Recently, there was an intervention from the School Best Management Committee under their School Improvement programme.
When they visited and saw the condition of learning of children, they were moved to provide the community a block of two classrooms.
However, AbujaCommunity found out over six hundred and fourteen million naira was approved by the federal government between 2020 and 2023 for the construction and provision of school infrastructure in the Federal Capital Territory Administration, according to the Budget Office.
Students lament, complain of open defecation, inadequate chairs
Sharing her experience with AbujaCommunity, a primary six student Dominion Modi appealed to the FCT authorities to provide a decent school infrastructure for them.
“We want clean place and conducive classroom,” he said.
Another primary six students, Alhassan Usman, whose dream is to become a military officer, expressed frustration while speaking to AbujaCommunity.
“Sometimes, in the class, we are distracted by the sight frogs, cockroaches and the likes,” Usman said.
Because the school lacks lavatories, Usman said the pupils answer the call of nature in the nearby bushes.
In Immaculate Emmanuel’s class there are 36 students in the class and majority of them sit on the floor because there are not enough chairs.
She hopes the FCT government will build new classes with furniture soon.
The experience of LEA Primary School students, Bagusa village is, however, contrary to the provision of the United Nations Children’s Fund Convention on the Rights of the Child Article 28 (A-E), which recognized that primary education should be compulsory, available, free to all, and accessible to every child.
The charter explains that appropriate measures such as the introduction of free education, offering financial assistance in case of need and measures should be encouraged , as a way to ensure regular attendance at schools and reduce the number of drop-outs.
Parents, district heads, CSO lament government neglect
“We were excited when we were told that a school would be established in our community, but sad to see there is no provision for classrooms and other amenities,” Queen Ezeagu said.
She was forced to enroll her children in private schools due to security reasons, even though teachers in public schools are better trained.
“The students are not secured and their safety cannot be guaranteed in an environment like this but in a private school it would be hard for the children to leave school without the knowledge of teachers and administrators.”
She said many parents who cannot afford to pay the exorbitant tuition fee of private schools are forced to enroll their children in contraption called public school.
Another parent, Mariam Sule, decried about the healthy state of the school environment. “My daughter is not comfortable about the school, there is no water, no toilet, and there are bushes everywhere. I don’t feel safe anytime my daughter leaves home for school because the school is open. I would not be at peace till she returns.”
The chief of TIV, Bagusa village, Timothy Anyi highlighted the importance of the school to the community development, decrying that students from Bagusa who schools in another community across the road had experienced various degrees and forms of accidents.
“We are happy to see that there is a school but the structure is bad,” he said.
Corroborating Anyi’s comment, the chief of Bagusa Community, Zakka Iyah, further explained how urgent it is becoming to addressed issues regarding the school.
Shocked that a situation of such is found in the heart of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, where ideally policies are expected to be enacted,
Comrade Hassan Taiwo Soweto, the National Coordinator, Education Rights Campaign (ERC) described the behaviour of government as irresponsible.
Absence of school infrastructure escalates out-of-school rates
The number of out-of-school has fallen by 9 million globally, while it rapidly increased by 12 million in sub-Saharan Africa, according to data obtained by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in 2022.
UNESCO maintained that infrastructure, especially schools with electricity, increased globally from 66% to 76% in primary education.
In support of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund publicised that one in every five of the world’s out-of-school children is in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s out-of-school figure stood at 10.5 million despite the introduction of free and compulsory primary education, it feared that getting out-of-school children back into education poses a massive challenge as the picture remains bleaker in the northern part of Nigeria.
Chapter Two, Paragraph 18 (1) of the Nigerian Constitution (1999 as amended) summarises the government shall direct its policies towards ensuring equal and adequate educational opportunities at all levels.
It further specifies in Paragraph 18 (3) of the same chapter that “Government shall strive to eradicate illiteracy, and to this end, government shall as and when practicable provide (a) free, compulsory and universal primary education.”
UBEB trades blame; says it failed to conduct a proper assessment
In an interview with AbujaCommunity, the Acting Executive Chairman of FCT Universal Basic Education Board, Dr Alhassan Sule, explained that the agency is unaware of the challenges facing LEA Primary School, Bagusa. He said the agency failed to carry out their due diligence before granting approval to some schools.
Dr. Sule blamed his predecessor for approving the establishment of school without proper facilities in Bagusa.
He further noted that the school is a political promises from the politicians within the Area Council, blaming the Abuja Municipal Area Council and Local Education Authority for not doing proper inspections. He said the approval was also granted during Covid-19 which partly was the reason for lack of proper verification
Notwithstanding, he noted that Bagusa would be added to the Board action plan for the year 2023.
“I was unaware of the situation until you drew our attention. We follow due process here, but we made a mistake which would be rectified”.
