By Adamu Abdullahi
Neglect and decay are fast becoming the daily reality pupils are grappling with at Kutada Primary School in Kuje area council of the Federal Capital Territory. At Kutada Primary School collapsed roofs, cracked walls and bare floors have replaced the basic dignity of a classroom.
In this forgotten corner of the FCT children gather under a crumbling structure that threatens their lives each school day, while parents and teachers watch with frustration as the future of their community is slowly eroded by years of government’s inaction.
The carcass of Kutada Primary School is becoming a thorn in the flesh of pupils, teachers, parents, and community leaders; and if things are allowed to remain the way they are, in no distant time educational pursuit in Kutada will be history.
Kutada Primary School headmaster, Malam Ahmad Adamu, who has been caught between the desire to develop a community through learning and the uncertainty being posed by the age-long neglect, said the condition of the school poses a serious threat to the lives of pupils who attend classes daily under the crumbling structure.
He said that because of the poor structure of the school, parents don’t want to send their children to school in the community any longer.
Adamu said many children have stopped going to school due to the unsafe learning environment, while those who attend sit on bare floors, studying under the constant fear of a building collapse.
Adamu said, “Imagine children going to this school in the federal capital with the fear that their school building might collapse on them anytime. They sit on the floor to learn and endure even more terrible learning conditions.”
Pupils at Kutada Primary School endure dangerous educational conditions for years, because they lack essential classroom infrastructure including roofs, doors, windows, and toilets; and a shortage of teachers for a long time.
The headmaster further explained that the deplorable state of the school has led to declining enrolment, as parents no longer feel safe to send their children to the school.
Teachers tell pupils to defecate at home
There is no single functional toilet in the entire premises of Kutada Primary School, as teachers advise pupils to relieve themselves before coming to school, warning that they would not be held responsible if any pupil wanders into the bush and gets harmed. The absence of this daily facility has created discomfort and health risks for the children, further worsening the already dilapidated learning environment and heightening the severity of the neglect the community has endured for years.
PTA demands govt urgent intervention
The Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) of the school has demanded the government to urgently intervene in the sorry condition of the school.
The chairman of the association, Mal. Abubakar Musa, said that high-quality education cannot survive under the harsh learning conditions at the school. He urged the government and Universal Basic Education Board to build an appropriate learning facility in the community.
Musa said, “The declining condition of this school reflects a widespread problem of insufficient educational facilities in rural educational institutions. Several stakeholders have stated the immediate necessity for action to halt educational deterioration in these children.”
He added that the community school has turned to a desert as a result of the dilapidation, saying they have no choice but to tax themselves in the community, including the teachers, to maintain some building structure to avoid imminent collapse.
According to him, the school has six (6) teachers including the head teacher and 178 pupils.
We suffered years of Neglect – Community head
Muhammad Maiyaki, the head of Kutada community, lamented how the only public school and Health center in the community have suffered years of neglect.
He said despite various complaints and letters submitted to the local government education secretariat for assistance; the government has continued to pay a deaf ear to the pleas.
When contacted, the local government’s education Secretary, Mr. Yunusa Zakara Kabbi, confirmed that the school is in a bad condition, but said the major challenge facing the community is insecurity.
Kabbi said that myriad of security challenges are the major factors undermining the efforts of the local government to develop the community.
He said, “We want to renovate the school, but the problem is the safety of those who would sent there to commence the project.”
