‘The day is bright, it’s bright and fair, the day of joy,’ the pupils sang excitedly. But there’s nothing happy or bright about this school
By IME OLA
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
•Abandoned classrooms
PHOTO: THE SUN PUBLISHING


On a warm Wednesday morning, you stroll into the premises of a public primary school in Lagos. At the entrance, flies in a pile of refuse welcome you as you come face-to-face with this school which is in a state of disrepair. As you move further, a putrid smell from an abandoned classroom block assails your nostrils.

At that moment, you want to run back. But at a distance, the pupils of First African Church Mission Primary School I and II, Iju-Ishaga who are in the morning assembly are singing their marching song: “The day is bright, it is bright and fair, oh, happy day, the day of joy, the day is bright, it is bright and gay, oh happy day.” Left-right-left-right-left-right, and without the luxury of a school band, they marched excitedly into their dilapidated classrooms. Looking at the deplorable state of the school, it is doubtful if they are really going to have a happy day.

There are four buildings in this school and two blocks of three classrooms have been abandoned. Even in the remaining dilapidated blocks, only two classrooms in each block are in use. With blown-off roofs, decayed ceilings, no electricity, no water, no teachers’ room, the school is a dumping place for refuse. At night, it is a magnet for undesirable people and events as some parts of the school fence have collapsed making it porous and accessible to miscreants. At the moment, anyone can enter the school through the collapsed fence.

In fact, the school is an eyesore. Everyday, pupils and teachers are faced with this reality when they come to school. A former Minister of Education during former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s regime once wept after seeing images of dilapidated schools across the federation. Like the minister, the sight of children running about in this distressed school would make anyone sad that our children are studying in such squalid conditions in the Centre of Excellence.
According to Education Review investigations, the school, formerly called (UNA) United African Church Primary School, was managed by the Ogun State government for decades and was taken over by the Lagos State government in March last year.

A source who did not want to be named, told Education Review: “For many years, the school had been in a dilapidated state and when it was handed over to Lagos State, Ogun State moved their pupils to a school in their state and only few pupils were left, those who wanted to remain here.
“After taking over, some officials from the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) came here to inspect the school, took photographs and surveyed the compound to know what to do concerning the reconstruction and rehabilitation before 2012.

“Similarly, officials from the Education Office at Ifako/Ijaye Local Government, through the Chairman, Chief Demola Doherty, even came and they also promised to assist in repairing the few classrooms that can be used for learning.”

Letters and appeals
Education Review learnt that the local government provided furniture and stationeries for the pupils and promised to provide more, but up till now, the pupils are still sharing the desks.
Perhaps, the worst handicap in this school is overcrowding. In its fetid atmosphere, the children are crammed into the four available classrooms which serve pupils in schools I and II. Interestingly, one of the schools has pupils from Nursery to Basic six. Two arms of each class in both schools share a classroom with four teachers, two from each school.

A source told Education Review: “The Nursery classes are crowded, we cannot have one school because the compound is for two schools. The government should rehabilitate the school because it is no longer safe for the pupils. There is no fence; it is haven for Area Boys. Even in the daytime, they come in here to challenge us and there is nothing we can do because the place is open. Recently, we saw a man with a load and we asked him, ‘where are you coming from?’ He hid his luggage in the roof in one of the classrooms, if there is a gun there, how do you know? The Area Boys smoke Igbo in the morning in the premises and when we challenge them, they tell us to leave them alone. Anyone that wants to see them should come here after school. They take room, sitting room, kitchen, toilet, in fact, this is their estate. They bring their girlfriends and sometimes we see their pants. Some of them drink and sleep in the classes and do not even wake up in the morning, we have to wake them.”

A parent, Mr. Zacheus Dairo spoke in the same vein: “It is over eight years now that we have been in this situation. This school is a dangerous zone at night, no gate, no fence, no security. When we give our children money for food, they use it to buy water to clean the mess left by area boys.”

Worried by its deteriorating state, Dairo said the parents have formed an association to fight for better accommodation. According to him, the association has written several letters to the authorities to rescue the school, all to no avail. The last series of letters were made available to Education Review. In them, they drew attention to the deplorable state of the school and called for urgent intervention and provision of some needs including a school band. In one of the letters, they requested for the following:

•Reconstruction and rehabilitation of dilapidated buildings.
•Replacement of window blades and doors.
•Repair of broken fenced walls.
•Provision of modern toilets.
•Provision of portable water.
•Provision of suitable and conducive classrooms for learning
•Provision of furniture
•Provision of science kits and instructional materials.
•Provision of computers/electricity.
Dairo lives in the neighbourhood and all his children attended the school. “Since this school was established about four decades ago, there has been no renovation. It is as if government has forgotten us. We know the governor is trying but he should not concentrate his efforts only on Lagos Island and Mainland. This school does not have toilets, and pupils defecate anywhere they like,” he said.

Poor sanitary condition
The PTA member took Education Review round the school. Baba as he is fondly called in the school took this reporter to the back of one of the buildings very close to the Nursery section where a disused toilet is. He pointed to a small bush, which serves as toilet for both pupils and area boys. “It has been like this for many years now as the school toilets are no longer in use, so everywhere is stinking,” he said.

During the rainy season, Dairo said the classes are usually flooded. To confirm this, Education Review visited the school on a wet Friday morning. The floor in most of the classrooms were wet from the early morning downpour which poured into the classrooms through the open windows and holes in the roof. In fact, some of the pupils shivered because of the morning cold.

Moreover, the path leading to the toilet area floods badly whenever it rains. On such days, pupils who are pressed have to wade through a sea of filth to ease themselves. From what Education Review saw around that toilet area, an epidemic is looming. Just very close to the Nursery section, there is a mountain of refuse. Some residents in the neighbourhood walk in there to dump their refuse.

Education Review gathered from one of the parents who has a shop opposite the school that waste disposal vehicles always refuse to pack the refuse in the school. “They always give us the excuse that nobody has asked them to pack the refuse, so the heap has continued to rise,” she said.

Even the stench from the toilet, which drifts to the Nursery section, is unbearable. But the pupils and teachers are unperturbed as they are already used to it. Education Review visited the school several times. On one of such visits, during school hours, four men were seen erecting canopies and arranging chairs for a social event. It was a wet Friday morning and before this reporter left the school about noon, guests, women in white (Asoebi) lace with the head ties were already seated for the event.

Despite the difficult conditions, the dedicated teachers and other members of staff continued their work and refused to speak with this reporter. A concerned resident who lives opposite the school expressed worry over its deplorable state. According to him, the Lagos State government should not have been in a hurry to start the school since it was still in a dilapidated state.

Hear him: “I have lived in this area for seven years now and I tell you this is not where pupils should be. This place is an eyesore. It is not a conducive place for pupils to learn. The question I always ask is, “can even the Local Government officials send their children to this school?” This is not a place to educate children. Is it a crime to send children to public schools? I feel very sad each time I watch them playing and running about in the school.”
A shop owner who preferred anonymity spoke in the same vein: “No matter how poor I am, I cannot send my children to this school because it is not a school. During break time, you see them jumping and playing about even around the abandoned block and sometimes, some of them get injured.”
Mr. Dairo said some time ago, a section of the roof in the abandoned classrooms did collapse. Mercifully, the accident did not occur during school hours when the pupils would have been in danger.

A matter of no better choice
In spite of its deteriorating condition, proximity is the chief reason why most parents register their children there. A parent, Mrs. Toyin Oyeneye said: “I have children here but I don’t like the deplorable state of the school at all. It is because the school is close to my house and I have no choice than to bring them here. I thank God that Governor Fashola has taken over the school and this has given us hope that he will repair it soon. We have taken steps to draw government’s attention to the school yet nothing has been done. We know government alone cannot fix all the schools, we also use this opportunity to call on corporate bodies and non-governmental organisations to come to our aid so that our children can study in a conducive environment.”

Another parent, Mrs. Modinat Akinbade said: “I brought my children to this school because the Lagos State Government has taken over the school and we know that in all Fashola schools, there are qualified teachers. This is the only government school that is close to us here in Ishaga. We are happy that the school is here but it is in a very bad shape. We are begging the government to come and rehabilitate the school. I have two children here and our young children cannot go to Fagba because it is far. Our governor (Fashola) is trying, we have seen what he is doing in other places even at Iju Junior Grammar School, let him also put smiles on our own faces by making the school conducive for learning. Whenever we come to the school, seeing the condition of the school, we are not happy.”
With the rising numbers of school age children in the centre of excellence, over the years, emphasis has been on getting roofs over their heads. At the moment, the state government is giving priority to secondary schools leaving the primary schools to rot. Although, the Fashola years have witnessed massive rehabilitation of schools in uptown, those in the suburbs have remained untouched. How sad.

When Education Review visited the Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government Secretariat, the chairman, Chief Demola Doherty was not available for comments. But an official of the council who did not want his name mentioned in print said the chairman was aware of the sorry state of the school.

However, when contacted the Education Secretary, for Ifako Ijaye Local Government Education Authority (LGEA), Mr. Balogun Taiwo said everybody is concerned and making efforts to ensure that the school is rehabilitated soon.
Taiwo who spoke with Education Review in his office at Vetland Schools Complex, Oko-Oba said: “Everybody is concerned, even members of the Iju-Youths Action Committee led by Comrade Emmanuel have also written letters to the government to rehabilitate the school. On our own part, we have also written letters to remind the government to come to our aid concerning the school. The chairman of Ifako-Ijaye Local Government has taken contractors there. Even people from the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) have come to see the school, so it is not that we are folding our arms and not taking action.”