Ogun school where pupils study under shed

Anguish remains the lot of the pupils of the Owode-Tuntun Community Primary School, Owode-Titun, Ota, Ogun State, as they return to school on Monday, FOLASHADE ADEBAYO writes

Not many pupils, especially those in good private and public schools across the country, will have any issue with their immediate school environment, as academic classes resume on Monday after the Easter vacation.

This pleasant scenario, however, will not be the lot of the pupils of Community Primary School, Owode-Titun, Ota, Ogun State. The less than 1,000 pupils of the school will be returning to their own school in the next three days, looking depressed and disconsolate.

The reason for this disappointment is obvious: they will be back on the beat under the same heat-inducing wooden extension called classrooms reportedly constructed by the school’s Parent-Teacher-Association.

The extension, a long shed held together by wooden poles and corrugated iron sheets, has been the classrooms for most of the 740 pupils for months. The PTA constructed the make shift arrangement almost one year ago.

During a recent visit to the school, our correspondent found out that the six classes under the wooden construction were filled with pupils but there were no demarcation to separate their classes. Without the protection of doors and windows, the wind swooped on the pupils, who shivered in their seats. The teachers, who also sat with the pupils, were seen chased around the makeshift classes by the scorching sun.

For the only public primary school in the community, our correspondent learnt that the descent into decay started in May last year, when a rainstorm blew off the roof of the block of six classrooms and the staff room. The storm also shaved off the entire side of the building.

According to the PTA Chairman, Mr. Olajide Tanimola, the incident, which occurred during school hours, injured many pupils, including one, whose teeth were knocked out by flying debris. The pupil and a handful others never came back, as their parents withdrew them from the 16-year-old institution and registered them in other nearby schools in the neighbourhood.

Tanimola said, “When the block of classes was destroyed by the rainstorm, we wrote to the Commissioner for Environment, the Chairman of Ada-Odo Ota and other relevant government officials. The commissioner came here, called the Commissioner for Education in our presence, and intimated him of the problem. However, that was the end of that adventure, as it were. We have not seen any of them since. When we noticed that it had turned into a case of abandonment, we had to hold a PTA meeting and taxed ourselves N250 each. We spent over N200, 000 to build this makeshift shed.”

But Owode-Tuntun is a community used to taking its fate in its own hands. Our correspondent learnt that the community built the block of six classes and the staff room demolished by the rainstorm. Besides, even the only two classrooms reportedly built by the authorities, some16 years ago, had the imprimatur of the members of the community, as they donated money and cement blocks to the project.

“Even with the ruins of the classrooms, you can see that the blocks are of different sizes. People in the community brought the items to support the project. The community also built the staff room and the toilet used by the teachers and pupils. We value education in this community and see ourselves as stakeholders. That is why the pupil population is so high and we have more than 120 PTA members,’’ added Tanimola.

Attempts to speak with the head teacher of the school were not successful as he directed our correspondent to the state’s Ministry of Education. However, a teacher, who craved anonymity, said the school lacked basic amenities required for learning.

The teacher said, “The school is an eyesore but there is no choice in the matter. More than 100 pupils have left the school since the rainstorm occurred last year. But the PTA has shown commitment and this alone has encouraged us. We need classrooms desperately but there are other pressing needs. The school has no fence, just as there are only a few chairs in it. We need more toilets and boreholes. Pupils run home to drink water during break periods. They trek a distance to fetch water for sanitary purposes.

“The situation was worse during the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease. Parents brought plastic buckets that their children used during that period. The government only supplied the school with an infrared thermometer and eight pieces of Tetmosol soaps. How long could that have lasted? If you come here after closing hours, you will see miscreants turn this place into a football pitch. The worst is that they end up damage the little available furniture all because it has no fence.’’

Speaking on the matter, a septuagenarian and PTA executive, Pa Raheem Bakare, urged the government to come to the assistance of the community. Parents, he said, had tried their best but lack of finances had frustrated their efforts to rebuild the classrooms.

“Let the government help us before the rains come in full swing. It was a bad experience for the pupils last year. They were sitting under the sun and we had to do something when it was obvious that help was not forthcoming from the authorities. Even our little assistance did not help much, especially as the pupils returned home whenever it rained. In truth, the pupils live like rats and the school is fast losing them. Through the PTA, we knew that there used to be 868 pupils but less than a year after, the population now stands at 740 pupils,’’ he said.

The Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mr. Segun Odubela, however, told our correspondent that the government had taken over the school, which used to belong to the community. He promised to investigate and take up the matter.

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