Primary school pupils cry out over perennial flood

Pupils of Hotoron Arewa primary school in Nassarawa local government area of Kano state have called on the state government to come to their aid by addressing persistent flooding that has been affecting their studies for several years. The school was established to address urgent need of growing population of the area, however, flood is […]

Pupils of Hotoron Arewa primary school in Nassarawa local government area of Kano state have called on the state government to come to their aid by addressing persistent flooding that has been affecting their studies for several years.

The school was established to address urgent need of growing population of the area, however, flood is about to sweep away the 44-year-old school, the pupils told Kano Chronicle.

Before establishing the school, pupils from the community had to walk to either Tarauni or Giginyu primary schools, very long distance from the area.

Kano Chronicle observed that the school needs urgent attention from government because whenever it rains, it means no learning activity will take place for about three days. This, according to the residents, had gradually made parents, students and teachers to become very worried when the rainy season begins.

A primary three pupil of the school, Usman Bako Tinshama told our reporter that pupils in the school dreaded rainy season because whenever the rain sets in, then the school days would not be regular.

“Whenever it rains, we know that there will be no school for us, even if we go, our teachers will send us home for at least two or three days to allow the stagnant water to subside. Honestly, we are not happy when we see students from other schools while we are at home doing nothing,” Tinshama said.

Aisha Garba, 11-yr-old pupil of the school said she wanted a change of school. She is tired of staying at home doing nothing while others are busy studying. Aisha said she had already asked her father to change school for her.

A visit to the school revealed that the cause of the problem may not be unconnected with absence of good drainages in the area.

The only water passage around the school was blocked and at some points, buildings were erected on it. Some residents, who preferred anonymity, put the blame on the community leaders who allowed people to erect structures on the water way.

Vice President, Hotoron Arewa Old Boys Association, Malam Bashir Abdullahi Walalanbe stated   that even though the community members had shown their concern over the persistent flooding affecting the school, but their nightmare continues for many years.

“It has become a perennial incident to us, the school has been neglected by authorities for years despite several requests for assistance by the community members to authorities on the need to take actions that will save the school from total collapse. The sorry state of the school has worsened to the extent that children studying in the school had to stay at home for 3 to 4 days whenever it rains.

“Parents and guardians are really going through a tough time; the primary school is the only public school within our reach in this area, and sadly, our wards had to stay at home longer than necessary; when it rains, the whole school compound and classrooms are water lodged.

“For years we have been making noise hoping someone will hear us, and we will continue to make the noise till someone listen to us and act to save our school,” Walalanbe said.

Alhaji Balarabe Wudil is the Chairman School Based Management Committee (SBMC), he told our reporter that they made several attempts to address the situation but their efforts could not yield positive result.

He said they sent reminders to the state ministry of education on the condition of the school and they would do the same to the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).