Filth rules in toilets of some Lagos schools

In an expansive hall inside the premises of Wesley Primary School, Agege, a cluster of pupils from various public schools were in ecstasy last Wednesday. It was an educational programme, featuring a mini competition and reading exercise. The event was at its peak.

Slipping out of the hall, our correspondent looked around for available restrooms. There were none in sight. A teacher walking by gruffly waved the journalist to an open door just behind the hall.

“That’s the children’s toilet; you can make use of it,’’ she said.

The ‘children’s toilet’ is an improvised latrine accessed from an ante room. There are four toilets in all with none having a water closet. One door was broken down; one was shut, while two were flung open. In one of the opened toilets, caked faeces decorated a pole while pieces of paper already used to clean up by pupils littered the floor. The putrid odour oozing from the toilets provoked instant nausea.

A young pupil stepped in at this point, darted a look at the reporter and made for one of the toilets. She bent down to urinate and left when the business was done. Our correspondent allowed her to leave before taking pictures.

Bids to speak with the head teacher were not successful as he was not available. The premises, however, also house the Vetland Primary School and the Local Government Education Authority.

Our correspondent also sought to speak with the Education Secretary, Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government Authority, Mr. Taiwo Balogun, but he was also not available. Sources however said the toilets were not sufficient for the school.

“Over 300 pupils make use of that toilet. That is what primary education in this state has turned into. Unlike the secondary schools, which use funds from the EKO Project, we have nothing. Most of the things we do here are self-help projects. The doors to the toilets are repaired from time to time but the odour is a shame, I must tell you,’’ said the source.

Elsewhere at Ipaja, pupils of Abesan Primary School, Estate Primary School and Housing Primary School urinate in the open. The schools, sharing premises, have no toilet facility to cater for members of staff and the pupils.

The head teacher of one of the schools refused to grant audience to our correspondent. But a source said a Parents’ Forum is already constructing a toilet for the schools.

“The situation in this school is pathetic. As you can see, both the staff and pupils have no decent toilet facility. That one under construction is from the Parents’ Forum. The local government, in my view, is trying its best. But it seems we have been forgotten by the state government,” said the source.

The indecent state of toilets at the Wesley Primary School and the Abesan Estate schools mirrors the reality in many of the 1,007 primary schools, 345 Junior Secondary Schools and 311 Senior Secondary Schools in the state. In spite of the efforts by the state government in turning around the education sector and providing a conducive environment for learning, such poor toilet spectacles abound in many public schools in the ‘Centre of Excellence’.

A professor of Public Administration, Mr. Ladipo Adamolekun, said the state of the toilets could impact negatively on the pupils. According to him, many toilet facilities across even the secondary and tertiary sectors in Nigeria are nothing to write home about.

“The report is even worse if you look at the secondary and tertiary institutions. That is one of the telltales of the decay in the education sector. Environment definitely affects learning, especially for female students. I am aware that the Millennium Development Goals prorgrammes have provision for sanitation. The girl-child is more affected when sanitation is poor. It leads to health hazards,’’ he said.

According to experts, such a dirty environment is a harbinger of diseases, such as diarrhea, dysentery and typhoid.

Attempts to talk with the Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye, were not successful. However, the Public Relations Officer of the Ministry, Mr. Jide Lawal, put the blame on the doorsteps of the affected schools.

“It is an isolated case. If you have four or five schools like that out of 1,007 primary schools in Lagos, then definitely they are isolated cases. These schools have been told to take ownership. If my toilet at home is bad, will I call Fashola because of that? It shows the type of person that I am. But you can text me the names of the school, it is noted, he said.

Meanwhile, beyond, the sanitation challenges in public schools, stakeholders are also looking at the Eko Secondary Education Project, a $90m partnership between the state government and the World Bank in 2009. There are fears that the project has yet to yield any meaningful result, particularly in sanitation in public schools.

Under the project, public schools in the state apply and get a grant of between N2m and N3.5m to improve on their quality of services.

The project has facilitated programmes such as a Home Economics Practical class at the State Senior Grammar School, Surulere and the purchase of a band set to improve the cognitive ability of Vetland Senior Grammar School pupils.

Last year, Governor Babatunde Fashola was at Vetland Senior Grammar School, Agege, a stone’s throw from Wesley Primary School and Vetland Primary School, on a routine inspection of Biological Garden uinder the Eko Project.

Under the project, the School Development Grant affords local school managers the ability to deploy the grant for the development of their schools in the areas of teachers’ development and school management. Some 667 sanitation managers have also been recruited to assist in cleaning the schools.

The state government is also battling the allegations of mismanagement and lack of transparency in the disbursement of the fund. Only last month, Fashola had replied critics of the project. According to him, allegations that the World Bank grant had been mismanaged were unfounded. At the inauguration of a book, Eko Project: A legacy of Excellence, the governor said the funds were in safe hands.

“Some people have made unsubstantiated allegations against us that we have stolen World Bank money. But in this government, our collateral is our collective integrity. We have nothing to hide. That is why when we mark our every 100 days in office, we give account to the people because we have nothing to hide.

“The results of our N13.5bn World Bank Education loan are in the open for everybody to see. Those who are managing the funds are providing the details of how they are spending the loan. So there is nothing really to hide. The money is not in our hands, it is in the hands of the schools and the funds are being used judiciously,” he said.

Efforts to speak with the Special Adviser to the Governor on the EKO project, Ms. Ronke Azeez, were not successful, as calls to her line did not go through. However, she also insisted at the programme that the state had managed the funds judiciously. Some of the items purchased under the project are projectors, Internet modems and generators. Others include the payment of allowances of volunteer teachers.

“To improve reading culture during the period, the government created 525 libraries, 305,000 textbooks, 423 students’ workbooks and about 10,899 reference materials,’’ she said.

Earlier in the year, the government had delayed in assessing the World Bank grant for 2014. During an award ceremony of the Education District 11 in May, Azeez had pleaded with the teachers to endure with the government.

“You need to be patient. The state government is doing all it can on the matter. The World Bank has approved the first stage, but the next stage has to go through the Federal Executive Council.

“If there is anything you can do to keep the sanitation managers working, please do it. We do not want the schools to go back to being dirty. Once we are through with the Federal Executive Council, you are going to get the grant,’’ she said.

Tweet