Pupils abandon FCT dilapidated school, take lessons in mosque

The village head of Bari-Bari in the Gurdi ward of Abaji Area Council, FCT, HRH Adamu Wakili, has revealed that the deplorable state of classrooms at the Local Education Authority (LEA) Primary School has forced pupils to take lessons inside the community’s mosque.

Speaking during a visit by Abuja Metro on Monday, Wakili said many children have stopped going to the school altogether due to the ruinous structures, noting that the roofs of the entire school building were blown off by a windstorm.

He explained that the children now sit on prayer mats to learn, though only a few parents still send their children to these improvised lessons.

“For the past five years, children have been staying home—not only because of the deplorable infrastructure but because the teachers posted to the school simply do not show up,” he said.

According to the chief, the palace set up a committee led by the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) chairman to engage the LEA management in Abaji.

However, he noted that these efforts have yet to yield positive result.

He added that many parents now engage their children in farming due to the lack of teachers and the school’s collapse.

“Most of the children head to the farms; only about 40 percent attend classes because of these two challenges: the dilapidated classrooms and the absence of posted teachers,” he added.

Mohammed Yusuf, a community member and volunteer teacher, told our reporter that he stepped in after seeing children stay home for over five years.

He said the village chief encouraged him to use the mosque so the children would not remain idle.

“I decided to teach them inside the mosque since the official teachers are not coming,” Yusuf said.

“I hold lessons in the morning, closing at 2pm, and they return at 4pm for another session. Currently, only pupils from Primary 1 to 3 attend.”

Ibrahim Suleiman, the PTA chairman, described the school’s condition as a source of deep concern for parents.

He said the association has made several attempts to call on the LEA to address the infrastructural deficit and teacher absenteeism, but to no avail.

“Regarding the teachers, most of them originally complained about the security situation. However, even though security has improved, they still haven’t returned, especially given the state of the school,” Suleiman said.

The PTA chairman also recalled how children were previously forced to stay home whenever it rained because of the leaking roofs.

“Even before the school reached this level of decay, the classrooms leaked so badly that there was nowhere for the pupils to sit during the rains,” he narrated.

Beyond education, the village chief lamented the lack of potable water, stating that residents rely on the Gurara River. He noted that the only functional hand-pump borehole broke down years ago and appealed to the council authorities to address both the water crisis and the educational decay.

Reacting to the report, an official from the Area Council’s works department, speaking on condition of anonymity, disclosed that the council has captured the provision of additional boreholes for the village in its plans.

He added that the issue of school infrastructure falls under the management of the LEA, noting that the LEA Secretary is expected to write to the council chairman to trigger further action.

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