The infrastructural deficit in some government-owed schools has forced many parents within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to enrol their children in private schools. But for many children, including IDPs whose parents cannot afford the huge tuition fees, education is threatened.
GRACE Ibrahim arrived with two of her children at the Wassa Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camp from Borno state eight years ago.
Picking up the pieces of her life was arduous, and top on the list of concerns was an education for her children, whose studies had been disrupted due to terrorism.
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A few years after settling in at the camp, Yusuf enrolled them at the Local Education Authority (LEA) Nomadic School, Wassa.
But a lack of infrastructure threatens her resolve to keep her children in school.
“The problem is, there are no toilets in the school. The older child uses that as an excuse to return home when pressed, and she refuses to return to school.
“Sometimes, she pretends to be pressed and remains at home for the rest of the day. I have to keep chasing her back to school,” she said.
During a visit to the LEA Nomadic School, The ICIR observed that the school’s infrastructural challenges went beyond toilet facilities.
Although situated along a busy road, the old structure lacked a perimeter fence, exposing children to the risk of running into the road while playing and getting hit by moving vehicles.
A part of the building had collapsed, and waste littered the school environment at the time of the visit.
According to the school’s Headteacher, Saidu Karshi, the collapsed area had been affected during a road construction beside the school.
The construction company had pulled down a classroom while working but compensated for it by erecting a building that now houses at least three classes and the head teacher’s office.
Karshi also confirmed that the school had no toilet facilities, though the company began constructing a toilet along with the new classrooms.
However, the toilet facilities were never finished, and upon assuming duty as head teacher a few months ago, Karshi completed the construction with personal funds.
It is now being used by staff, while pupils are yet to have access to toilet facilities in the school.
“I was the one who completed the toilet last term because I felt I couldn’t be looking at my teachers going into the bush. So that has been taken care of, but I am watching out for that of the pupils. Let me see how we can also handle it,” Karshi said.
There were also no water facilities, and The ICIR observed that classrooms lacked adequate desks and chairs for pupils.
A class of about seventy students had only five desks and four chairs, leaving many children receiving lectures while sitting on the floor under worn-out roofs.
According to a study by the World Bank, a relationship exists between school infrastructure and academic performance, as safe and healthy learning environments positively affect learning.
Similarly, a report by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) also showed that schools lacking infrastructure negatively affected learners’ academic achievements.
Karshi reiterated this point while speaking with The ICIR, adding that he had made efforts to call the government’s attention to the state of the school.
“You know effective teaching and learning cannot be achieved under this situation. The government is doing its best, helping in one way or another, but we are still facing these challenges.
“Just this morning, we had some inspectors around that were trying to evaluate the students, and one of them saw the challenges we are facing, so he said I should snap the children and send to them, which I did early this morning. The Inspectors are from UBEC. Normally that is what we do, we send to them to see by themselves what is actually happening,” he said.
Karshi confirmed to The ICIR that the state of the school discouraged parents from enrolling their wards. But for IDPs, there were not so many available alternatives.
Although a transitional learning centre was set up within the IDP to provide free education for pupils of nursery school age to primary four by a Non-Governmental Organisation, only 100 pupils were admitted due to financial constraints.
“If we could have adequate materials, and chairs, desks are enough for them, at least they will have a sense of belonging and feel what other children are feeling in the towns,” Karshi said.
According to the Universal Basic Education Act of 2004, children in Nigeria are entitled to free learning up to the Junior Secondary level.
Section 2 of the Act states that “every Government in Nigeria shall provide free, compulsory and universal basic education for every child of primary and junior secondary school age.”
But for children in Wassa, education mostly ends at the primary level as there are no government-owned secondary schools in Wassa.
The nearest secondary school is situated in Waru, a neighbouring community, and children whose parents can hardly afford transport fare have to walk long distances to acquire education.
Nigeria adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015. Goal 4 aims at ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all by 2030.
It also describes education as a lifeline for children in crisis, including IDPs, but the state of schools in the FCT makes its achievement seem unlikely.
A similar situation
In Karon-Majigi, a suburb behind the National Military Cemetary, the LEA primary school is about fifteen minutes from the IDP camp on foot.
IDPs at the Karon-Majigi camp have a better deal than those in Wassa, as the nearby LEA primary school has access to water resources and toilet facilities.
The school premises also houses a secondary section, making it easier to access further education after primary school.
However, many children at the LEA primary school, Karon-Majigi, also find themselves sitting on the floor during classes due to a lack of enough desks and chairs.
The ICIR observed that ceilings in many classrooms had holes in them and were already falling in some others. There were no glasses in the windows of some classrooms, leaving the pupils exposed when it rains.
For Khadijat Hassan, an IDP who relocated to the Karon-Majigi camp in 2015, rainy days meant no schooling for her daughter. She explained to The ICIR that her daughter often fell ill when beaten by the rain.
“The problem is, she falls sick easily. If she gets beaten by the rain, she instantly becomes ill. And I cannot afford to be treating her every time, so I keep her at home on rainy days,” she said.
The FCT Universal Basic Education Board (UBEB) is responsible for government-owned schools in the territory.
The ICIR reached out to the Chairman, FCT UBEB Hassan Sule, who identified the influx of citizens into the FCT as a factor affecting the state of schools in the FCT.
“There are no conditions in the FCT that we are not aware of, but there are many factors to be taken into consideration. You know that FCT is the heart of the nation. When we make budgetary provisions, we do not make provisions for people coming in as immigrants. People come in every day in the FCT, and they come along with their children.
“We said it is the right of every child resident in the FCT to access basic education. There is no way we will not admit them because we don’t have enough classes or chairs. We said it is better we admit them while we think of a remedy,” he said.
Sule noted that facilities were being utilised by more pupils than planned, putting a strain on them. He also said that harsh weather conditions negatively affected school buildings as many roofs had been lost to rainfall recently.
He further stated that the FCT has been taking steps to remedy the infrastructural challenges, but increasing financial constraints resulting from trying to provide schools in different communities were slowing down the development.
“We have renovated nearly 1000 classrooms across the FCT. And almost every day we hear of rainstorms or anything, we rush there and pencil it down for immediate intervention. We recently supplied furniture to the LEA Junior Secondary School in Karon- Majigi.
“That will continue until all our schools are flooded with furniture. We will do everything within our powers,” he said.
Way forward
While Sule blames the infrastructural deficit in government-owned schools on a lack of funds, Lead Consultant at an educational consulting outfit, Florish-gate Global Consults, Dideolu Adekogbe attributed the issue to a lack of planning and value for education.
“Our government needs to be intentional. There should be plans for repair and replacement after a period of time. These structures should be evaluated to see which of them require repair or replacement,” she said.
She added that quality education was a right and urged citizens to question authorities where such rights were being denied.
Adekogbe also urged alumni and philanthropists to invest in the educational sector and complement any efforts being made by the government.
“Our government makes things look like they are doing us a favour as citizens. They don’t see these things as our rights. Education is a right and should be acquired in the right environment.
“Education is collaboration. The government cannot do it alone. Communities, where these schools are, should take ownership of those schools. Even if they won’t build any schools, the ones built by the government, can we ensure that they are kept safe? Can we sustain them?” she asked.
With terrorism already affecting the studies of many, failure to provide displaced persons with quality education poses the threat of an increasing number of out-of-school children in Nigeria, where the figure is already over 20 million.
This report is a part of Youth Hub Africa’s Basic Education Media Fellowship 2022 with support from Malala Fund and RiseUp.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via [email protected] or @ije_le on Twitter.