Trespassers turn classrooms into toilets, shelters in FCT

Less than a week to the resumption of primary and secondary schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), parents and community leaders in Dei-Dei, Bwari Area Council, have raised alarm over the deteriorating condition of a public basic school in the area. Findings by Abuja Metro revealed that out of about eight classroom blocks in […]

Less than a week to the resumption of primary and secondary schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), parents and community leaders in Dei-Dei, Bwari Area Council, have raised alarm over the deteriorating condition of a public basic school in the area.

Findings by Abuja Metro revealed that out of about eight classroom blocks in the community’s school, only two are currently fit for use, while the remaining six have been taken over by trespassers who use them for open defecation and as makeshift shelters.

Established in 1975, the school was once a major centre of learning that produced notable individuals within and beyond the community. Residents say it has now fallen into disrepair.

The village head, Malam Saidu Hamza Sani, a pioneer pupil of the school, said its current state is disheartening.

He noted that the school previously served pupils from neighbouring communities, including Dape, Zhibi, Dakwa, Mai-Uke, Tungan-Kwasau, Tungan-Galadima, Bakusa and Saburi, before additional schools were built in those areas.

Sani lamented that abandoned classrooms are now used for defecation, as sleeping quarters and as hideouts for drug users.

He added that vandals have stripped parts of the infrastructure, including doors, windows and roofing sheets.

To address the situation, the community set up a task force to enforce discipline, noting that anyone caught defecating within the premises is compelled to clean up the mess.

A former pupil, Abdulaziz Ilyasu, recalled that the school used to undergo regular renovations during holidays, with improved facilities awaiting pupils at resumption.

He, however, said the shortage of usable classrooms has led to overcrowding, forcing many pupils to sit on bare floors during lessons.

“You also find that some teachers leave before closing hours because it is difficult to manage the large number of pupils at once,” he said.

Ilyasu further disclosed that a library constructed by a non-governmental organisation remains unused due to lack of books, while a borehole provided by a foreign agency is no longer functional after vandals stole its pumping machine.

The Chairman of the Parent-Teachers Association (PTA), Ibrahim Dangaladima, said officials of the FCT Universal Basic Education Board (UBEB) visited the school about a year ago and promised to rehabilitate the facility, including reconstructing sections of the collapsed perimeter fence.

“But more than a year later, nothing has been done,” he said.

He added that the situation is worsening with the onset of the rainy season, as leaking roofs are already affecting school attendance.

When contacted, the Chairman of FCT-UBEB, Dr Sulaiman Hassan, said the school had been included in ongoing renovation projects across public schools in the territory, but did not give a timeline for intervention.