Exploring a Community School in FCT Where Students Learn on the Floor

Parents in the Dukpa community are voicing alarm over the severe overcrowding at the Local Education Authority (LEA) Primary School located in Ibwa ward within the Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory.

During a visit by Abuja Metro to the school on Monday, numerous parents reported that there is a critical shortage of desks and chairs, compelling a majority of students to attend classes while sitting directly on the floor.

Furthermore, these parents highlighted that the lack of suitable furniture and teaching resources has created extremely challenging conditions for both educators and students.

A parent, Mr. Barnabas Ishaku, emphasized that the absence of basic infrastructure poses a significant hurdle for the school's operations. He remarked that the poor facilities—accounting for the scarcity of seating and the deteriorating state of several classrooms—have led numerous parents to transfer their children to different schools.

According to him, students and teachers are subjected to undignified circumstances where they find it difficult to sit comfortably. “If you look closely, some of the pupils are relegated to the bare floors within overcrowded classrooms, making effective learning incredibly difficult, while the teachers are also deprived of seating,” he remarked.

A teacher named Gabriel corroborated that the lack of furniture has been an ongoing concern for many years. He pointed out that with such a high number of students, there aren’t enough desks and chairs to accommodate everyone.

“This is why we have to merge students from two classrooms into one for teaching purposes,” he stated.

Gabriel further noted that these undesirable conditions also have a negative impact on teachers’ morale, sharing that, “Many of us resort to sitting on window sills during lessons while the students remain seated on the floor.”

Benjamin Markus, the Chairman of the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), informed that the association has reached out to the LEA administration multiple times seeking furniture, yet these requests have not been met with a favorable outcome.

“In fact, it is difficult to remember how often we have approached the LEA office in Gwagwalada about the shortage of adequate desks and chairs, but our efforts have yet to yield any results,” Markus lamented.

He called on the LEA officials to collaborate with the FCT Universal Basic Education Board (UBEB) to secure desks and chairs as well as repair the dilapidated classrooms.

“It is disheartening to see students sitting on the bare ground engaging in lessons at an FCT school. I truly believe this reflects poorly on the education sector in the FCT,” he added.

Attempts to contact Gana Mamman, the Secretary of the Gwagwalada Local Education Authority, for comment were unsuccessful as he did not respond to calls concerning this matter.

Nonetheless, an anonymous senior official at the LEA indicated to our reporter that the office has indeed reached out to the FCT UBEB regarding the need for furniture.

“This issue extends beyond just the Dukpa LEA Primary School; a myriad of primary schools in rural areas throughout Gwagwalada are encountering similar infrastructural deficiencies,” the source revealed.

Additionally, an official affiliated with the FCT UBEB mentioned that the board has included the renovation of schools and the enhancement of infrastructure for select LEA schools in Gwagwalada as part of its current budgetary provisions.