Kwara community pupils learn under Trees

Children of Budo Oke community area of Kwara State are learning under the tree as government abandons the school building after the buildings were removed by a rainstorm.

This is even as the entire school has only three buildings while two have been destroyed by the wind leaving only one that is already dilapidated.

A report from the Informant247News indicates that one of the buildings in the school was built by the Kwara State government; the second was built by a Non-Governmental Organization in 2005, while the third building is under construction is been funded by community donations.

The school was destroyed by wind in March this year, and since the incident happened, the state government has abandoned it, leaving kids to learn under Trees as an alternative for classrooms.

This is even as community leaders told pressmen that they had written several letters to the Kwara State government and no response was gotten from any of the officials.

Adeshola Esther, a primary six pupil said, “Whenever I am in school especially early in the morning, I always feel cold because we have been learning under the tree. We couldn’t make use of our classroom because it doesn’t have a roof and windows.

“This is how we have been learning for more than 3 months. Each time rain starts falling, the Headteacher will tell us to go home. We couldn’t wait in the rain because our clothes will be wet. So, we usually run home. We are not always happy when the rain falls, because we know it will definitely affect that day’s class activities.”

Soliu Quadir, who lives very close to the school, said, “My parents are into trading. My ambition is to become a teacher and impart knowledge to the younger ones. I plead with the government to as a matter of urgency help us repair our school.”

In an interview with the head of the Parent Teachers Association, PTA, Alhaji Solihu Ayinla, he expressed with bitterness the state of the school building.

He said, “This has been a yearly experience. This school was built over 15 years ago. Since then, this is the one classroom the government has provided. It is with the help of an NGO that will have another classroom which was built in 2005. We have written to the state government, they keep on promising, but up till today, we haven’t seen them. We are still using this opportunity to implore the government to come to our aid.

“Since, the first rain started, that was when the pupils have been learning under the trees. Immediately rain falls you will see them going back home because there is nowhere they can stay. With the little we have done, we have spent up to N300,000, it remains planks to do the roofing. But we have exhausted our efforts. This is the major problem we are now facing in our school; may God help us.”

One of the community leaders when contacted, said, “As big as our community is, it ridiculous and sad to say we don’t have a standard primary school, talk less of secondary school. Not having these two belittle us in this community. Since the roof of this school was blown away, we have been looking for support from the government, and even wealthy individuals who could help us renovate the school.”

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