For over ten years, children in the Kuchichacha community, Kwali Area Council, FCT, have been learning in a dilapidated facility. Kuchichacha LEA Primary School, the only primary school in the community, has classrooms with no roofs, no learning materials, and just five teachers for 500 pupils.
This condition has made parents withdraw their child(ren) from school and return them to the farms instead.
According to UNICEF, Nigeria has 18 million children. 1 in every 5 in the world. This situation is one of the contributors to the abysmal figures as the government’s neglect of this facility has denied over 500 children access to quality education and contributed to the rising number of out-of-school children in the country.
When our team visited the community, we met Mr Magaji, the community secretary. He shared his concerns about the situation and explained how the children faced terrible challenges just to receive a basic education.
“As you can see, the school structure has no zinc and learning materials. The buildings have collapsed, and the roofing has been removed by wind and rain. During the rainy season, our children are forced to stay at home while some of us have to tell them to go to the farm because we do not see the use of the school anymore.
We have written to the council Chairman and even to the Universal Basic Education Board in Abuja with plenty of pictures for over ten years, but still no feedback from them. Some people who refuse to allow their children to go farm have to attend schools in other communities so that they won’t be left behind in the school system,” Mr Magaji said.
The youth leader, Mr Abdul, explained how the school’s situation discourages qualified teachers.
“Some years ago, a teacher was transferred from Kwali town to our community, but immediately he saw the condition of the school, he quickly took another transfer and left. The teacher said he had never seen any school like this before in his life. The government is not responding to us in any way. We are pleading with your organization to come and help us call them. Our children need to go to school,” he said.
The government has not responded to their numerous letters and inquiries, leaving the people of Kuchichahcha feeling abandoned.
We call on Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, the FCT Minister, Senator Ireti Kingibe, Hon. Abdulrahman Ajiya, and Hon. Danladi Chiya, the Chairman of Kwali Area Council, to facilitate the rehabilitation, furnishing, and staffing of Kuchichacha LEA Primary School to enable over 1,000 children in the community access quality education.
Story by Ayomide Ladipo and Garba Abdullahi
