Parents of students of the Junior Secondary School (JSS) in Kwaku community in Kuje Area Council of the FCT have expressed concern over the dilapidated state of classrooms in the school.
The school, being managed by the FCT Universal Basic Education Board, has its roofs blown off
Some parents, who spoke with Abuja Metro, expressed worry as the rainy season sets in, saying it might affect students’ learning.
A parent, Issac Mathew, said the six blocks of classrooms have been in dilapidated state for over six years ago, which he said has been making learning unconducive for the students.
He said the students now learn under the heavy scorching of sun and rain fall.
He said, “Check the six blocks of classrooms, you will discover that all the roofs have been blown off and students are being merged to take lessons in one of the classrooms, during the rainy season.”
He said the parents have been complaining to the management of the FCT UBEB to fix the classes but nothing has been done.
A teacher in the school, Danladi Markus, said aside from the dilapidated state of the classrooms, the school also lacks chairs and desks for both teachers and the students.
He said, “If you observe, the entire nine classrooms’ roofs have been blown off by a windstorm. And whenever it rains, we have to move some students to one of the empty classrooms at the senior secondary section to stay and take their lessons.”
Also speaking, the chairman of the school-based management committee, Mr Barnabas Ezekiel Baba, said apart from the dilapidated classrooms, the school has been facing challenges of lack of boreholes in the school.
He added that he also lacks enough teachers to handle some core subjects, adding that some students don’t come to school whenever it rains due to the condition of the classrooms.
“Any day it rains, most of the students don’t bother to go to school that day because all the nine classrooms are leaking as the roofs have been blown off by windstorm and nothing has been done about it for over six years now,” he said.
He appealed to the management of the UBEB to come to the aid of the school by fixing the dilapidated classrooms and also sink a borehole at the school to enhance conducive learning.
A senior management staff of the UBEB, who preferred anonymity, because he is not authorized to talk to the press, told our reporter that the board had taken stock of the challenges facing junior secondary schools not only in Kwaku but also in some neighbouring villages including Leda in Kwali Area Council.
He said, “The last time I spoke with you, I told you that the board was aware of those challenges you mentioned but because of the bureaucracy of the present FCT administration, the board has to follow up the matter gradually in order to see how those challenges can be addressed.”
