FCT school serving over 20 villages in ruins

The Junior Secondary School (JSS), Rimba community in Abaji Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory is in ruins as both the roofs of the major buildings, the chairs, desks and other electrical appliances have been destroyed by wind for some years now. Abuja Metro reports that students of the school, which is being ran […]

The Junior Secondary School (JSS), Rimba community in Abaji Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory is in ruins as both the roofs of the major buildings, the chairs, desks and other electrical appliances have been destroyed by wind for some years now.

Abuja Metro reports that students of the school, which is being ran by the FCT Universal Education Board, now find it difficult to learn effectively.

The school is also faced with shortage of teachers, with one teaching more than three to four subjects.

Our reporter, who visited the school on Monday, learnt that over 20 communities including those from neghbouring Niger State rely on the school for learning.

Abuja Metro also observed that the roofs of both the administrative and laboratory buildings have been blown off by wind, destroying valuables such as desks, chairs, and some electronic appliances inside.

It was also observed that the ceilings of both blocks have caved in, while ceiling fans and electric wires are allegedly stolen by hoodlums in the area.

One of the teachers, who conducted   our reporter round the school, explained that its roofs were blown off by a heavy wind a few years ago.

 The teacher, who craved anonymity because of the civil service rules, attributed the damage to poor roofing by the contractor who executed the projects.

 He added that the school has written to both the area council authorities and the FCT UBEB on the need to fix the roofs but has not received a positive response.

“In fact, the school even informed the village chief of Rimba, who is also aware of the damage to the roofs of the two buildings,” he said.

He added, “Even the ceiling of the frontage of the Administrative block that caved in, we had to invite a carpenter to fix it some years ago.”

He stated that electric wires that ran through the ceilings of the two buildings have been stolen by hoodlums, including one burglar-proof window.

He said the hoodlums take advantage of the lack of a perimeter fence to invade the building and steal electric wires.

 He added that some valuables from the administrative block have been moved to the village chief’s house for safekeeping.

He also lamented the shortage of teachers for some subjects in the school such as Mathematics, PHE (Physical and Health Education), IRS (Islamic Religious Studies), Basic Science, and Computer Science.

“The only Mathematics teacher the school has is on secondment from the LEA primary school in the community, while the Islamic Religious Studies teacher is also on secondment,” he said.

According to him, the school engages a PTA teacher from the neighboring Ebagi community to teach PHE, who is paid N15,000 monthly.

“And since we resumed for the first term, the teacher has not come to the school. The school also has no Basic Science teacher, as the teacher handling IRS is the one assisting to teach the students Basic Science,” he added.

Also speaking, the Etsu of Rimba, HRH Alhaji Abubakar Jiya, expressed concern over the state of the UBE school in the community. 

He noted that the roofs of both the laboratory and administrative blocks were blown off by wind some years ago without being fixed by the concerned government authority.

He said he has drawn the attention of both the area council authorities and the UBEB to the state of the school without a positive response.

He said the school, which was established in September 2015, caters not only for students of the community but also those from the neighbouring Ebagi community, including over 24 other neighboring villages under Niger State. 

He appealed to the government to intervene by fixing the roofs and fencing the school.

The FCT UBEB director, Dr. Hassan Suleiman, could not be reached for comment on the development. 

A text message sent to him was also not replied to as of the time of filing the report.

However, a senior official at the UBEB, who preferred anonymity, confided in our reporter that the board has already embarked on the rehabilitation of all UBE secondary schools across the FCT, including the one in Rimba community.

“I don’t know if you are aware, but the board has already started renovation of the UBE school in Sabon-Gari in Abaji town. As I speak, work is ongoing at the school, and you can take your time and visit the school yourself to see what I am telling you. All the roofs that were blown off by wind are being replaced there,” he said.

The source said on the issue of the shortage of class teachers, the board had already written to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, seeking his approval to employ more teachers, especially for both primary and UBE schools in FCT rural communities.

“The board is still waiting for the Minister’s approval for the recruitment of more teachers for both primary and UBE schools in the FCT. Up till now, we have yet to get the Minister’s approval because you cannot employ teachers without paying them,” he said.

At the weekend, the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, also hinted that the FCT

Administration will soon commence the renovation of another set of 40 schools across the territory in addition to those presently undergoing what he called comprehensive renovation.