The level of deterioration of education in Kano that led governor Abba Yusuf to declare a state of emergency on the sector has started picking up as seen in some of the primary schools.
A visit to some public primary schools on Tuesday in Kano where such actions are being taken tells a lot of stories and exposes what the state government needs to do as well.
Already, at the Sabon Layi Primary School, located in Bichi local government area, a beneficiary of the state government’s intervention of building a one storey building with four classrooms and offices across all the 44 local government areas.
With a total number of pupils in the school being 1,764, and having an average of 90 pupils per classroom, there are no chairs and tables, and the pupils sit on bare floor. Some of them come with empty sacks or mats from home to sit on.
Even as the government had given an emergency supply of chalks, register books, reading and and writing materials as well as exercise books, the teachers complained to Leadership that they have no blackboards in the school.
What they use as blackboards are portions of the wall painted black, which makes it difficult to write with chalk on.
In one of the classrooms the reporter saw a pupil lying sick on an empty sack while the remaining pupils were receiving the daily lessons. The class teacher explained that the school has no dispensary or a health worker but manages a first aid box which they contribute money to buy the medicine.
The school has only four restrooms of which the over 1000 pupils share two and the 46 teachers share the remaining two even as there is not enough sources of water.
Some of the classes where the pupils take lessons are not only on bare floor, but on delapidated bare floors without roofs.
Responding to questions from Leadership, the Headmaster of the school Awwal Abubakar, explained that the schools have been deteriorated for many years while expressing hope that the state of emergency declared by the state government might change the situation.
“Some of the classrooms need to be renovated because they can’t be used when rain is falling.
“The construction of the additional classrooms has been completed but has not been put into use yet. We don’t have enough restrooms in the school we share the four among the teachers and pupils.
“We work hand in hand with the parents to provide both sanitary needs for the restrooms and even buy medicine for the first aid box” he said.
At the Dawakintofa Model Primary School in Dawakintofa local government, the school has benefited with desks and chairs provided to it under the state of emergency while the one storey building of the four classroom and office is still under construction.
With a pupils population of 1,212 and a staff strength of 32, the school has ten restrooms in all, with four for the female pupils, one each for the males and female teachers and the remaining five for the male pupils.
The Headmaster, Sabiu Sunusi, explained that the school has been without furniture for about ten years, until recently when they got supplied with 200 three-seater desks and and seat under the state of emergency on education.
“We were supplied with 200 three seater desks and seats by the government. All our pupils now take their lessons on seats. We have also repaired some delapidated old ones to make up the balance for them.
“We also got the emergency intervention of books, registers, chalk and others” he stated.
However, the Headmaster further explained that the school is exposed and unsecured. There is no fence around the the school, a situation that has caused the school a lot of vandalism.
“There is no fence around the school and we are exposed to a lot of vandalism and insecurity. We had to remove all the fans in the classrooms to avoid them being stolen as a lot of things have been vandalized in the school” he said.
The additional classroom building is still under construction at Zango Primary School in Rimingado Local government while the pupils still sit on bare floor for lessons. The school is facing the same challenges with the others that include lack of restrooms, lack of water, lack of electricity and lack of security.
Meanwhile, the Kano state Governor Abba Yusuf has declared 31 percent of the 2025 budget, with a whooping N168,350,802,347:19 for the education sector. This is to be used in overhauling the sector and providing space for our of school children as well.