Kebbi school in ruins despite producing governors, ministers
Mudi Primary School is one of the oldest primary schools in Kebbi State. Since its establishment in 1936 in Kamba, the headquarters of Dandi Local Government Area, the only personality it has not produced is a president. The school has a long list of political personalities such as governors, ministers, senators, secretaries to state government, speaker of House of Assembly, directors-general, House of Representatives members and other top political personalities, who played important roles in the socio-economic affairs of Kebbi State and the country.
Checks by our correspondent revealed that Malam Muhammadu Dan-Bachaka, who served as deputy to the late former Governor Shehu Kangiwa of old Sokoto State in 1979, was the first headmaster of the school. Other notable personalities it produced include: Alhaji Garba Salihu Kamba, the military governor of old Gongola State; Alhaji Isa Argungu, a former minister; Alhaji Sani Kamba, a former senator; Alhaji Ibrahim Bawa Kamba, former speaker of the state House of Assembly; Alhaji Karba Rabiu, a former Secretary to the State Government; Danladi Kamba, former director of the Department of State Service, and many others.
Unfortunately, despite the long list of notable personalities the school has produced, from 1936 to date, it is in ruins due to neglect.
When Daily Trust on Sunday visited the school, it was observed that apart from the two blocks of classrooms constructed by the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), the entire structure that makes up for what is referred to as Mudi Primary School is in a state of decay. No classroom in the school appears fit for pupils to sit in and receive lessons because it might just cave at any moment. The walls have cracked and the ceilings that were eaten up by old age and termites are waiting to collapse.
The school’s football field and some portions of the block of classrooms are flooded. It was gathered that the situation was worse during the rainy seasons. Lamenting the situation, a member of staff said, “We did everything within our power to stop or control the water, but we later left it because it is beyond our control. This is a school that has produced many notable personalities in the state and the country. The only personality this primary school has not produced since it was established in 1936 is a president. You can go and check its records.”
A teacher in the school told Daily Trust on Sunday that not less than 178 pupils are in a class in the school due to shortage of classrooms. “You can imagine that in a class made up of A, B and C, we have not less than 200 pupils in each of them. And this is how it is in other classes.”
When contacted, Abdullahi Zanuwa Aliyu, the 69th out of the 72 headmasters who had directed the affairs of the school since its creation, told our correspondent that two committees of the SUBEB were at the school to inspect and assess the situation.
“Some officials of the Engineering Department of the SUBEB also came to the school and promised to commence repair work in the school soon,” he said.
According to the records made available to our correspondent, the school has a total number of 5,140 pupils, out of which 3,250 are boys and 1,890 are girls.
Also, out of the 48 teachers the school has, only 38 are teaching presently while 10 are said to be on study leave.
Narrating the predicaments of the school to our correspondent, a member of staff who did not want his name mentioned, said most of the renovation works that were carried out by the school authorities to prevent the structures from collapsing were done by the ParentTeachers Association (PTA) of the school.
“The School Based Committee was also responsible for the building of some classrooms, and has provided 285 furniture for the primary school. Sometime ago, the present speaker of the State House of Assembly and the Commissioner for Commerce donated medical materials and drugs to the school.
“We have written five times to the SUBEB about the deteriorating condition of the school. We are still waiting for their response,” he said.
It would be recalled that the Federal Government and the Kebbi State Government earmarked N3.6billion for the renovation of primary and junior secondary schools in the state through the SUBEB and the Universal Basic Education (UBE) as counterpart funding for 2014/2015. This development really excited community leaders and leadership of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) in the local government areas of the state where primary schools were renovated and more classroom blocks constructed.
The deputy chairman of the NUT in Dandi Local Government Area, Suleiman Bala Gado, while praising the state government over the renovation of schools, noted that the initiative did not only increase enrolment but greatly decongested most of the schools.
“We used to have over 200 pupils in a class, but with the construction and renovation of additional classrooms, we now have about 50 in a classroom,’’ he said.
A community leader, Hakimi Abubakar Tungar Bore, said the new projects motivated parents to enroll their children in various schools.
However, many people expressed worry that despite the number of personalities it has produced, its historic importance as one of the oldest schools in Kebbi State, Mudi Primary School is left to rot away.