Increase in out-of-school children eminent, as dilapidated primary school finally collapses in Bauchi Community
Samuel Luka, Bauchi
Residents of Lafiyari/Dutsen Gora Community in Bauchi local government area of Bauchi state are in difficult situation, as the only primary school in the area that has been in a state of complete dilapidation for years finally collapsed.
As a result of the collapse of the primary school in the community which is few kilometers from the Bauchi metropolitan city, residents feared it will undermine Governor Bala Mohammed’s effort of ensuring that no child is left outside the class.
Speaking to our Corresspondent Saturday, the Hamlet head of Lafiyari Community, Dutsen Gora, Muhammad Lawal Musa said that their woes started during the tenure of Governor Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar when rainstorm wrecked havoc on the school by blowing off part of the school’s roof.
“The school’s roof was blown off by a rainstorm since the tenure of Gov MA Abubakar. Before now, we made effort as a community to patched it but as time goes on, we were unable to continue due to the impact of the rainstorm on the school”, the Hamlet head said.
“We made several efforts to have the government renovate the school for the continued learning process of our children but it proved unsuccessful”, he added.
According to him, with the present situation of the two classroom blocks of the school, the learning process of the about 200 pupils in the community is in jeopardy.
Musa Lawal who said, considering the economic condition of the parents in that Community who are predominantly peasant farmers, only few of them can afford the relocation of their children to neighboring Wuntin Dada and Miri.
“We have about 200 pupils learning in this school but now the school is no more there and most of the pupils who’s parents cannot afford to relocate them to neighboring schools have absconded because even part of the school’s wall has fallen”, he said.
The Hamlet head who commended Governor Bala Mohammed for building and renovating many schools across the state, pleaded for his intervention to avoid increase in out-of-school children, a scorch he said the Governor has been fighting.
“We are pleading with the present administration under Governor Bala Mohammed to help us reconstruct the school so that our children can go back and continue with their academic activities. We have written to the past government but we were not lucky, but now we believe that the present administration will wipe our tears”, he said.
“Like I said, we have written series of letters in the past, that’s during MA Abubakar but we don’t know whether the letters were able to reach the right table or not, but we hope that this time around, we would be heard through this medium”.
Musa who said, as traditional leaders, they have always sensitize parents on the need to send their wards who are leaders of tomorrow to school in order to fight illiteracy and improve the society through education, said such effort is facing serious threat in his Community due to the recent collapse of the primary school.
A concerned parent and a women leader in Lafiyari, Hauwa’u Haruna corroborated the Hamlet head by saying that the future of their children is in danger following the collapse of the only primary school in the community.
She said, as it is now, many of the pupils have been staying at home during school hours because of the situation, most especially now that it is rainy season.
She lamented that the present Governor who promised to renovate the school during his campaign in 2019 is yet to fulfill the promise four years after winning election.
While expressing hope that the Governor who has been executing numerous developmental projects in the state will consider her Community in his second term administration, Hauwa’u noted that if care is not taken, many children in the area may continue to be at home without going to school.
“The children have stopped going to the school since it collapsed. We have discussed with the teachers who promised to continue to teach the children even if is under a tree but the children are not even coming because, not only the roof have been blown off long time ago but now part of the wall of the school has fallen”, she said.
