- Structures dilapidated, toilets stink
Learning conditions in many public and even private schools have continued to deteriorate in spite of calls by experts and human rights activitists for strict regulation, investigations by The Point has revealed.
Our correspondent, who went round some public and private schools found that the students were being made to learn under what may be termed dehumanising conditions inside dilapidated or uncompleted buildings, with or without toilets.
According to findings, many school projects have been abandoned half way, with very poor staffing and no consideration for the security of students and teachers. For instance, the Community Primary School, the only public school in Onibudo, Akute, Ogun State, was built about five years ago by the state government. But the school project has been stalled, while teachers have continued to complain of poor staffing and the merging of classes in one room.
“For instance, the kindergarten class has no teacher. One of the assistant headmistresses has been handling the kindergarten class to plug the hole. We don’t have enough classrooms. The school authority has been forced to merge classes to check the classroom shortage,” a female teacher in the school, who spoke with The Point under the condition of anonymity, said.
“This is the only classroom block in the school. The government has abandoned the other one that is under construction. We hope the state government will complete the structure without further delay,” another teacher, who also asked not to be named, said.
Our correspondent, however, found that the classroom floors of the primary school had weathered badly and were littered with potholes, while pupils were exposed to health hazards because of the unhygienic meals and fruits sold to them without regulation.
“People sell meals and fruits to our pupils here. But these edible items do not meet basic rules of hygiene. They are exposed to infections,” the source said.
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