The Nigeria Union of Teachers and the Parents Teachers Association have condemned the substandard school infrastructures nationwide.
National President of PTA, Alhaji Haruna Danjuma, said this in reaction to the recent collapsed building at Saint Academy, Jos Plateau State.
The school’s two-storey building collapsed on July 12, 2024, at about 8:30 am, claiming 22 persons.
About 154 were trapped under the rubble before they were evacuated to various hospitals.
In a statement made available to Edugist on Thursday, Danjuma insisted that there was a need to provide adequate facilities, including classrooms, to achieve desired objectives.
“Parents Teachers’ Association has expressed concern over alleged inability of governments at all levels to provide conducive environment for learning in education institutions in the country.
“There is the need for proactive measures to address the challenges particularly provision of adequate facilities including classrooms to achieve desired objectives,” he said.
Danjuma suggested that there should be regular access of funds from the Universal Basic Education Commission to basic schools across the country.
“Our schools need regular access of funds from the universal basic education commission which currently has over forty five billion for the thirty six states and the FCT, Abuja after payment of fifty per cent counterpart contribution,” he said.
He advised governors to improve quality of education through collaboration with UNICEF and other relevant bodies.
Secretary-General NUT, Dr Mike Ike-Ene, in an interview with The PUNCH added that the dilapidated state of school structures across the country would make the learners hostile. Ike-Ene emphasised.
“If you visit old primary schools or those in remote areas, you will find children sitting under trees, with leaking roofs and cracked walls. They are cautious, praying the structures don’t collapse on them. And yet, we claim to have a government? When children study in such harsh conditions, it hardens them. It doesn’t make them environmentally conscious; rather, they see themselves as coming from hostile environments.
“The government must ensure our schools are well-built, and those who educate our children should be well taken care of. There’s much that needs to be done by the government.”
