Zaria college students sleep on bare floor

Government Commercial College (GCC) Zaria was established decades ago by old Kaduna State before the creation of Katsina State. It was the only government-owned school that offered commercial subjects to students. It places teacher output at the center of learning and was renowned for increased students’ achievements not only in commercial subjects but in sciences […]

Government Commercial College (GCC) Zaria was established decades ago by old Kaduna State before the creation of Katsina State. It was the only government-owned school that offered commercial subjects to students. It places teacher output at the center of learning and was renowned for increased students’ achievements not only in commercial subjects but in sciences and mathematics.
However, inadequate investment in school facility maintenance and nonchalant attitude of policy makers on education had left the school crumbling.
Up to around 1990, it was the pride and joy of many families in the state to secure admission for their children into the college and students were then admitted on quota system in which every local government area in Kaduna State was given specific slots for admission. Students at various local governments competed for these slots.
And before Katsina State was created out of Kaduna State in 1987, GCC Zaria accommodated students from all over the then Kaduna State. This was, perhaps, the reason why in every part of the present Kaduna and Katsina states many prominent personalities proudly claim to be old boys of GCC Zaria.
The fame that GCC Zaria commanded from its establishment up to the 1990s has completely diminished, as the school is now a ghost of its former self, investigation revealed.
Daily Trust’s investigation also revealed that the woes of GCC Zaria, like other public schools in Kaduna State began when government at different levels neglected this institution. In the same vein, some of the principals that the school had had allegedly engaged in some shoddy practices.
“During one of our old boys’ meetings, we discovered that the trees that were all over the school, which greatly helped during our days in providing friendly environment, were completely uprooted. On enquiry, we learnt that a certain principal of the college fell all the trees in order to sell the wood and make money. What kind of irrational selfish decision was that?
“That is just by the way. If you knew commercial college in the 1980s and you enter the college now, emotions would definitely force one to break into tears. All the good structures that we had during our days are now in a poor state. From students’ hostel to classrooms, typing pools to technical and science laboratories are now all wasting away. In fact, I want to tell you that this is not our commercial college, it is an entirely different school now,” Muktar Musa, one of the old boys of GCC Zaria, said.
He added; “In our GCC Zaria, we had a typing pool with hundreds of typewriters, a library with variety of books, a technical workshop with different machines and tools, disciplined teachers and administrators that instilled discipline in students, conducive hostels among many other facilities that a college of GCC status required.”
A lecturer in the Department of Political Science Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, Dr. Aliyu Yahaya, who is also an old boy of the school, said whenever he visits his alma mater, he feels sad over the high level of dilapidation of structures there.
“I was shocked to discover the present condition of GCC Zaria. In fact, a Junior Secondary School was erected within the school’s premises. The students’ hostels, including the girls’ hostels, which used to be secured, are now left to the mercy of intruders, as the fence of the college has partially diminished. To be sincere, the state that GCC Zaria is in now is a shocking one,” Dr. Yahaya said.
Some of the students of the college interviewed by our correspondent said most of the basic amenities that a secondary school is supposed to have are not available in the college.
“Until recently, we were facing the challenge of inadequate supply of safe water. To get water, we had to move into the town to search. By this, our safety as boarding students was not guaranteed, especially our girls who were often harassed. In some cases, we assist these girls to fetch the water.
“Water problem is even insignificant now because a borehole was recently dug. But as you can see the college has no fence anymore. It is just like we are sleeping on the streets. Anybody can come into the school at any time and at will. Students can easily sneak out from school even in the night. The condition of the hostels is not fit for human habitation. Academic activities are worse hit because most of the teachers, where available, show nonchalant attitude towards their work. Our problems here are too numerous to mention,” a student of the college said.
Investigation also revealed that GCC Zaria used to have four students’ hostels; Isa Kaita, Sardauna, Dawotola and Aminu houses.
Presently, two of these houses have been merged, even at that students sleep on bare floor, as beds and other facilities have allegedly been carted away.
Same fate befell the college’s other facilities, including the staff quarters. The little contribution that the GCC old boys is making in assisting the school is grossly inadequate to bring it back to its former glory, Daily Trust found out.
Governor Nasir el-Rufa’i of Kaduna State has since assumption of office been lamenting over the condition of public schools in the state, promising to restore them to their once befitting status.