Kano School Where Headmaster,Teachers Sit On Bare Floor Over 23 YEARS

By Kolawole Omoniyi

The situation of Primary Schools Pupils sitting on the bare floor inside their classrooms is no longer news in northern Nigeria. The shocking news at the moment is the fact that the Pupils’ Headmaster and Teachers have started joining the ugly trend. The current experience at Kwarin-Kudi Primary School in Gezawa local government area of Kano state proved the new development.

The School built in 1995 with just a single building of two twin Classrooms was commissioned without furniture since inception till date. It also lacks toilet and Staff Office including stationery for smooth leaning.

Pupils at the School are haphazardly taking excuse to answer nature’s call by going back home or to the nearest bush. Some of them hardly return to the class until the following day. Their teachers also follow suit by defecating at the nearest bush due to lack of toilet at the School which is about to mark its silver jubilee.

Some teachers at the School told Solacebase that though they were deployed to the School few years ago, they were told that there was never a provision for furniture since the School was commissioned in 2005.

 “We always sit here (at the entrance of the classroom) on the bare floor. As you can see, we usually spread mat on the floor and sit on it with our note books and textbooks to wait for the next class” they claimed.

Teachers at Kwarin-Kudi Primary School

They explained further “when sunrise and it is biting hash, we used to join our Pupils inside the Classrooms and sit on the same bare floor together with them. We have no table to keep our belongings including chalks and textbook, we always pack them inside this sack bag, go home with the bag and come back with it the following day.”

The Headmaster of the School who preferred anonymity claimed that since his assumption about four years ago, he had not received any monthly subvention or teaching materials from the government, rather he always used his money to buy chalks and other elementary materials.

He told Solacebase that in their classes of Primary one to six, Pupils are divided into the two twin classrooms building – class 1-3 in the first classroom and class 4-6 in the second class.  “We always wait for each other to teach, we used to skip many of our scheduled periods because two teachers cannot be teaching inside a classroom at the same time. “The situation has been like this here since 23 years and no one is interested in our case”. He lamented. 

The ugly situation of the dilapidated School got complicated in 2011 when a windstorm blew off the roof of the structure. Years after the incident; there was no intervention from the State Government to remedy the situation.

Chairman of the Parents Teachers Association PTA at the Village, Aliyu Muhammed said “Things become worst for us when the windstorm struck and blew off our rooftop. Unlike before that our Pupils used to stay in their Classrooms till the closing hour, now once the scorching sun rises, they will carry their bags and go back home. When it is during rainy season, they leave as soon as the weather is cloudy, signaling the possibility of rainfall.”

Kwarin-Kudi Primary School after the Windstorm

Aliyu Muhammed said the situation lingers despite several letters written to the Local Education Authority (LEA). “The LEA has always been promising to repair the roof, they even sent representatives to take pictures of the building last year, but that was the end of the story.”

He said apart from the outlined challenges, the School is already overcrowded and can no longer accommodate the population of Children of the Villagers. This, according to him, discourages some Parents from enrolling their wards, hence contributing to the problem of Out of School Children in the State. The situation at Kwarin-Kudi Primary School is peculiar in rural parts of Kano State.

Kwarin-Kudi Primary School Pupils Getting Set to go Home Around 10:30.am Due to Unpleasant Sunny Skies

Several efforts to meet the LEA officials at the Village were unsuccessful, but when contacted, a Commissioner at the State Primary Education Board SUBEB said the situation at Kwarin-Kudi Primary School was a rear occurrence while enumerating the commitment of the State Government in education sector.

“That of Kwarin-Kudi Primary School is an isolated case, you should have gone round and see other places where pupils have access to good toilets, see pupils who are comfortably sitting in classrooms. The government is really trying, recently we purchased some furniture and some selected Schools are enjoying it to meet the legitimate expectations of students in public Schools” He responded.

Speaking to Solacebase, Kano State supervising Commissioner for Education, Science Technology and Innovation, Engr. Aminu Aliyu, promised to look into the situation at the Kwarin-Kudi Primary School, though, he said that the State cannot only shoulder the huge financial burden of education, therefore urging Parents and Guardians as well as other well to do individuals to key into the sector.

“Kano has over 7, 000 public Schools and over four million Pupils and Students, Government is doing everything within its power to take education to the next level. Don’t forget we have two Universities, other tertiary institutions, College of Education and Polytechnic. We still have students on scholarship in Nigeria Private Universities and abroad. So I want to use this medium to call on parents and other stakeholders to key in, to move Kano education to next level. ” He said.