Kogi village where pupils take lessons on bare floor

Pupils of the Local Government Education Authority (LGEA) primary school in Ahoko North community in Koton-Karfe, Kogi LGA of Kogi State receive lessons sitting on the bare floor in dilapidated classrooms.

North Central Trust correspondent, who visited the school on Wednesday, observed that the one block of four classrooms with headmaster’s office is dilapidated and the classrooms have neither doors nor windows.

The LGEA primary school, which is about 200 meters away from the Abuja-Lokoja highway, has not been renovated since it was established in 1993, sources told our correspondent.

It was further learnt that some of the classrooms were built with mud blocks by members of the community.

However, even the block of two classrooms built with mud blocks in 1994, through community efforts, is on verge of collapse.

A teacher at the school, who preferred anonymity, said the school has been facing a lot challenges, ranging from dilapidated structures to lack of teachers, desks and chairs.

He said the school has a total of 112 pupils but has only 14 plastic chairs and desks.

He said also that the school has only five teaching staff, including the headmaster.

“Out of these five teachers, a pastor from this village, volunteered to pay the salary of two teachers.

He said the roofs of all the classrooms were leaking, adding that classes were forced to stop whenever it rained.

He said the management had written several letters to the Local Government Education Authority on the dilapidated condition of the school but without any results.

The chairman of the Parent Teachers Association (PTA) of the school, Baba Isuwa, expressed concern over the state of the classrooms.

He said since the school was established, no renovation was carried out and that the dilapidated structures posed a risk to the pupils.

“And you can see for yourself, no renovation work and no desks or chairs while the roofs of all the classes are leaking.

``Whenever it is about to rain, pupils have to go home as the classes have no windows and doors, while the other one built with mud blocks in 1994, through the community efforts is also on verge of collapse,” he said.

Isuwa also said the management had written letters to the authorities of the LGEA about the state of the state of school but nothing has been done about it,’’ he said.

Reacting, the Secretary of KogiKoton Karfe LGEA, Salihu Adamu Usman, said he visited the school on assumption of office to ascertain the challenges facing it.

He said he ordered the management to put the challenges in writing and attach pictures to forward to their complaint to the state SUBEB for action.

“In fact, the headmaster of the school you are talking about just left my office, as I asked him to write a letter of reminder and bring it to me and attach pictures so that I will still follow-up in order to see that Kogi state SUBEB gives approval for the rehabilitation of the entire school,” he said.