In February 2021, we visited Ahmadiyya Primary School, Iwaya, Lagos Mainland LGA, Lagos to track a borehole and toilet project allocated to it in the budget, and discovered that it was in a terrible state and needed a lot more than WASH facilities.
The building was dilapidated, the roofs were leaking, and there wasn’t furniture to accommodate over 500 pupils. The condition of the school had negatively impacted the children’s learning and health, especially during the rainy season.
We took pictures and used our social media handles to call the government’s attention to the situation and wrote letters to the state government.
In May 2022, the construction of a block of 18 classrooms commenced and was completed in September 2022. The classrooms were also furnished appropriately.
Mr Ojoye, a teacher in the school, expressed his joy at the new development, saying it had brought relief to not just the pupils but the teachers and parents, who now enthusiastically send their children to school as the learning environment is now conducive.
“The attendance has improved significantly, and children attending other schools now want to come here. It is now a competitive admission process. Our pupil’s performance has gotten better since they now learn in well-furnished and conducive classrooms. No more running helter-skelter when it rains,” he told us.
To ensure sustainability, we visited again in January 2024 to review the condition of the school, and the teachers said the school and classrooms are still in good condition, and they have more than enough classrooms and furniture.
“We are even giving some furniture and classrooms to Fasil Omar for them to use temporarily because we have more than enough. The children’s performance has improved because of the new school building, and Eko Excel also came and provided learning materials for everybody. Some pupils that you think were not smart before, now they are doing well, and it makes us very happy.’ said Mr Dokuno, the Basic 2 teacher.
“Before, when there was no furniture and classrooms were bad, it affected their performance, as the children could not concentrate on the teaching, and many didn’t even come to school.” he continued.
The only pending request from the school to the government is the establishment of an ICT centre to provide the pupils with the necessary computer literacy skills and enable them to compete with their peers across the world.
We call on the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board to facilitate the establishment of an ICT centre in Ahmadiyya Primary School.
Story by Ayomide Ladipo and Macaulay Ihenyen
