Facilities in public primary and secondary schools in Kwara State have seen better days. ADEKUNLE JIMOH of The Nation  reports on the effect on education service delivery in a state that last accessed Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) grants in 2013, and what the government is doing to address the situation.

HUGE infrastructure deficit in the education sector in Kwara State is evident in many public schools across its 16 Local Government Areas (LGAs).

Many of the public primary and secondary schools have become decrepit and unfit for learning.

Stakeholders in the education sector have blamed past leaders for the lack of commitment or lackadaisical attitude towards education.

Also, poor funding over the years has crippled the development of education, thereby making the state which, used to be a reference point in the North, lose its glory in the education sector.

Little wonder then that a group known as Kwara Development Trackers (KDT) passed a damning verdict on past leaders in a compendium of pictorial representation of infrastructure and amenities in the 16 LGAs.

The group noted: “Although there is evidence of some handful of interventions by previous governments, there are glaring official neglect, governmental dereliction, communal nonchalance, poorly supervised, executed and substandard projects. Others are wasteful utilisation of facilities, inadequate and uneven staffing.

“A good example of the state of our educational decadence in the state is the Polofo Community Primary School, Asa Local Government Area. It succinctly depicts the situation in different communities. The stolen land of the Government Secondary School (GSS), Ilorin; the decadence in Government Secondary School (GSS), Afon; Asa Local council, the rotten state of GSS Malete; Bofaje/Eleyele Primary School, Ifelodun LGA of Kwara south senatorial district. The decadence also shows that the school has turned into a deathtrap.

“After the extinction of the main Ansaru Isalam Community School as a result of continuous neglect, its temporary site at Obbo-Aiyegunle, Ekiti Local Government Area, the structure is not habitable for even animals.

“The story is not different in Baruten Local Government Area, Kwara North district. Baruten Community School, which used to be four blocks of two classes each, has been reduced to half-roofed single class with no furniture. They use mats in their classes.”

KDT hailed the owners of Oyun Baptist High School in Ijagbo, Oyun Local Government Area of the state for keeping the system going.

“Oyun Baptist High School is a typical example of successful community effort. They keep the system going despite government’s neglect; they cut down economic trees within the school premises to make furniture for students,” KDT, a non-governmental organisation, said.

When he assumed office last year, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq promised to restore the old glory of this hitherto force to be reckoned with sector in the northern part of the country.

AbdulRazaq started reforms that focused on the promotion of quality education delivery.

“We are going to restore this state back to its number one position in the education sector in the northern part of Nigeria. That is our aim,” he said.

Recently, the governor said over 1,000 schools needed reconstruction and equipment with modern teaching facilities.

He said his administration had activated plans to fix the facilities, equip them, and train and motivate teachers, relying partly on UBEC funds that have been unused by the state in about six years.

“We have over 1,000 schools, which need to be rebuilt completely. It is not just about renovation because many classrooms have collapsed.

“Some do not even have floors, not to talk of furniture. So, we will gradually fix these schools and bring them back.

“There are many lapses, especially in the area of education. That is why we intend to access Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) funds, which the state has not accessed since 2013. We want to access it to fix some of our schools.The infrastructure deficit is so huge that even the entire UBEC funds cannot fix all our schools,” he added.

Not too long ago, the Kwara State Executive Council approved  a N7.1 billion loan to access the outstanding N7.1 billion six-year backlog of UBEC funds, which it plans to invest in its basic education sector.

The Kwara State Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Comrade Olu Adewara, applauded the governor’s determination to revamp the sector.

“It is a very good thing that the state government is trying to look into complete rebuild of public schools on the account of their dilapidation. We welcome the pieces of information with utmost joy.

“We are also very impressed about plans by the state government to access funds from UBEC to fix infrastructure in schools.

“The last time the government accessed funds from UBEC was 2013. But now that we have the opportunity, having cleared the backlogs of debts owed by previous administration, it is highly commendable. We hail him for considering that the basic education sector in the state needs prime attention,” he said.

However, he urged the governor to pay attention to teachers’ welfare.

He said: “It will be our joy that as much as the government is considering paying attention to infrastructure, which of course, remains germane to having smooth teaching and learning, more importantly, the one that is germane to us and the one that we have been yearning for these past years is the welfare of the teachers.

“As soon as the UBEC funds are accessed rather than spend all on infrastructure, the government should accord the welfare of the teachers priority attention.

“If the government expends the funds on infrastructure and painting walls and the stomachs of the educators are empty, such ones will not be able to deliver that which is expected of them. And at the end of the day the targeted goal of the government will not be invariably achieved.”

Listing some of the teachers’ demands, Adewara said many had not been promoted or had been on the same salary level for as long as 10 years.

“Some of our chains of demands that have been age-long include lack of promotion for a number of our teachers at both Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM) levels. Most of the teachers at the SUBEB level got their promotion last with financial backing in January 2015.

“A number of teachers in SUBEB had their incremental payments last in 2010. It is worrisome for somebody to be marching on the same spot for 10 years, even when all other workers in the state take their incremental step every year. The essence of these UBEC funds, being accessed, is to focus on teachers and other institutions in the state.

“The promotion we had for teachers in secondary schools (TESCOM) was done last in 2014 with financial backing, while the promotions we had in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 were done only on paper, no financial backing and this is year 2020. It means that promotion process for 2019 and 2020 is still being expected.

“Painfully, we also have arrears of three months and some 43 percent on the account of payment of salaries in percentages by the last administration. The leftovers of these percentages have accumulated to three whole months.

“Thankfully, we have not had a taste of this bitter pill since this administration came on board. On that note we want to, as a union, commend the governor so seriously for putting behind us the unfortunate incident of paying salaries in percentages. We give kudos to him on that account.”