The condition of the LGA Primary School Chia in the Nmbaagan community of the Buruku Local Government Area, Benue State has become so deplorable that it has deteriorated into a criminal hideout.

The heartbreaking condition of the school has raised deep concerns over the state of public education infrastructure and students safety in the state.

LGA Primary School Chia currently hosts over 119 pupils, despite lacking the most basic learning infrastructure. 

A recent visit to the school revealed that the classrooms have no chairs or tables. 

The walls are visibly cracked, and the floors are bare earth. Also, the windows are broken, and there are no doors to secure the facility.

With no door nor security, the school has become a haven for goats and criminals gangs, particularly those who smoke Indian hemp who use the school as their second homes and as a hideout for illicit activities.

It was observed that the pupils are not just exposed to harsh learning conditions, they are exposed to danger.

Parents have begun to withdraw their children from the school out of fear for their safety. 

Many pupils have stopped going to school as their parents are gripped by fear of the unknown as the learning space meant to shape their children’s future has become a threat to their safety. 

Reacting to the terrible state of the school, a civic technology platform, MonITNG, which visited the school, decried the Governor Hyacinth Alia-led state government’s neglect of the school.

“When children are denied a safe environment to learn, we rob them of the foundation of their future,” MonITNG stated on its X (formerly Twitter account on Saturday. 

The organisation added, “This image is not an isolated case, it's a symbol of countless schools suffering in silence across rural Nigeria.” 

According to MonITNG, “What is more painful is the silence of the government while these children are left behind in despair and insecurity.” 

Demanding an urgent intervention from the Benue State government, MonITNG said, “We are calling on the Governor Hyacinth Alia to act now. This school needs urgent renovation or reconstruction. Qualified teachers must be deployed, and proper infrastructure must be provided. 

“These children deserve more than promises; they deserve action.” 

The condition of LGA Primary School Chia echoes a growing trend across parts of Benue State, where rural schools suffer from chronic underfunding, infrastructural decay, and insecurity. 

In 2023, a report by a local education rights group identified at least 150 schools in Benue with similar challenges, ranging from dilapidated structures to complete lack of teachers and materials. 

Several of those schools, located in Gwer West, Konshisha, and Agatu LGAs, were found to be operating without toilets, libraries, or even roofs. 

Education advocates have repeatedly urged the state government to declare a state of emergency in the education sector. 

In 2022, the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) ranked Benue among states with the highest number of unutilized intervention funds, raising concerns about poor execution and mismanagement at the state and local government levels. 

As calls for immediate intervention grow louder, residents of Nmbaagan are pleading with both the Benue State government and the Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) to take urgent action before the situation spirals further. 

According to them, if nothing is done, the community risks losing an entire generation of children who are being pushed out of school not by poverty, but by the failure of the system meant to protect them.