In Government Secondary School (GSS) Koroduma-Central in Karu LGA of Nasarawa State, nothing is working. If not for the students’ signpost and school uniforms, one would mistake the building for a coaching centre.
When Tracka visited the school, we observed no doors and windows in the classrooms, and the ceilings are leaking, making learning impossible during the rainy season. The chairs and tables are not enough, so students sit on the floor during classes.
An average class has over one hundred students and coupled with the terrible infrastructure, it has made learning difficult for the students.
The school has over 800 students and less than 18 teachers to cater to them. There is no office in the school, and we, the teachers and principal, use the abandoned laboratory as a makeshift office.” said a teacher who pleaded anonymity.
Furthermore, the school also has no water and toilets. Sometimes, when the students need to relieve themselves, they go to a nearby house, leading to disputes between the students and the villagers.
“During school hours, when they want to pee or shit, they will be disturbing us to use our toilets. But I don’t blame them because that is the condition they have found themselves.” said Silas, a resident who lives few metres away from the school.
One would think the students already have enough problems to deal with but wait. There’s more.
“There is no perimeter fencing, and this has given a free ticket to hoodlums in the community to use the school as a meeting point for their dangerous activities.” Adigizi, a resident, told Tracka.
These incidents have led to disputes where the hoodlums attack the students and the staff. The Vice-principal was once a victim of their atrocities where he was severely wounded while trying to save his students, and since then, everyone has been afraid of the school. This lack of fencing also allows goats and other animals to wander into the school and disrupt learning activities.
Another resident, Balarabe, confirmed that the lack of security posts in the school would expose the children to danger.
“There is no security in the school, and now that bandits are doing their worst in Nasarawa state, many parents have stopped sending their wards to school.”
We call on the Federal Government, the Nasarawa state government, and the necessary stakeholders to look into the plight of the students in this school and rectify the problems.
They are the state’s future, and continued neglect of their education and safety equals throwing away the state’s future wealth.
Story by: Ayomide Ladipo and Sarah Musa.
This story is published under Tracka’s #LeadersOfTomorrow, a story series that sheds light on the state of the educational sector in Nigeria and how it affects the development of children and youths.
