•Pupils in one of the classrooms
Parents of pupils at the Local Education Authority (LEA) Primary School in Paikon-Basa community, Gurdi ward of Abaji Area Council, have decried the dilapidated state of the school, which they say is already discouraging the pupils from learning.
The parents also lamented the situation where only three staff members — two teachers and the school’s head — teach the 207 pupils in the school, reports Daily Trust.
The parents added that pupils are already being forced to abandon their education and embrace farming due to the dilapidated state of their classrooms.
Our correspondent visited the school on Tuesday and observed that the learning conditions for both the few teachers and the pupils were unfavorable, as they were exposed to the scorching sun because the roofs of the classrooms had been blown off.
The Chairman of the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) of the school, Mr. Zakari Dalhatu, said they were worried over the state of the classrooms in the community. He noted that the school, established in 2007, serves not only the Paikon-Basa community but also the Tana/Kpata-Komi, Makana, and Yabani neighboring communities in the area.
He stressed that the absence of infrastructure, such as learning materials, desks, and chairs, especially the dilapidated classrooms, has continued to affect learning in the school.
According to him, parents were forced to engage their children on the farm, especially during the rainy season, as a result of the leaking classrooms.
This, he said, has made teaching and learning unconducive for both teachers and pupils.
Dalhatu reiterated that despite the school having over 207 pupils, including those from neighboring villages, there are only three teachers, including the head teacher, who often teach the pupils inside the dilapidated classrooms.
He noted that the state of the dilapidated structures has discouraged parents from sending their children to school, with some children mostly going to the farm with their parents.
“In fact, I cannot count the numbers of times I met with the headmaster of this school; we both sat down and I wrote to the management of the LEA about the state of the school, but there has not been any positive response from them,” he said.
Speaking further, the PTA chairman confirmed that several requests were forwarded to the management of the Local Education Authority (LEA) in the council to intervene by renovating the entire classrooms and providing furniture, but these have not yet yielded any positive response.
James Audu, a Primary 5 pupil who spoke to our reporter, said he always joins his parents on the farm, especially during the rainy season, due to leakage in the classroom blocks.
He also mentioned that aside from the dilapidated classrooms, the school has insufficient teachers, noting that the only active teacher is a native of the community.
“Like during the rainy season, my two junior brothers and I always follow our father to the farm because all the classrooms are leaking, and there are not enough desks and chairs,” he said.
One of the teachers at the school, who pleaded anonymity, told our reporter that the dilapidated state of classrooms, lack of furniture, and inadequate teachers have been some of the major challenges facing the school.
He also recalled how teachers stayed away from the school during the period of insecurity, which was a result of kidnapping last year.
“But we thank God that a sigh of relief has partially come the way of both teachers and parents in this community. What we want the government to do is to try and renovate the classrooms and provide furniture, as well as recruit more teachers,” he said.
Group donates materials
Meanwhile, a group known as “Safe Future of Younger Generations Back To School” has donated writing materials, comprising exercise books, biros, pencils, and an undisclosed amount of cash to one of the dedicated teachers in the school.
The leader of the group, Comrade Usman Dalhatu Abubakar, who is also a native of the community, made this known to our reporter.
He also said an undisclosed amount was given to the teacher, whom he said has been dedicated to his duties.
According to him, the initiative was to complement efforts towards reviving the “dying” primary school education in the community, following the aftermath of insecurity and banditry which led to the temporary displacement of communities and the suspension of economic and school activities in the area.
He said the donation, which took place on Tuesday, October 13, 2025, featured the re-enrollment of drop-out pupils and new students.
“Upon the restoration of peace and the reopening of the school by the government, the primary school further witnessed a series of challenges from parental attitudes toward education, incessant teachers’ strikes, and dilapidated infrastructure which resulted from the temporary abandonment and natural disasters such as the windstorm that almost wrecked the entire blocks,” he stated.
He said he also used the occasion to make a series of engagements with the communities, including the traditional leaders, women, youths, and teachers, which he said has successfully brought children/wards back to the classrooms.
“Although, the major challenges facing the school are the state of dilapidated classrooms, lack of furniture, and inadequate teachers, which are seriously affecting the learning conditions of the pupils,” he said.
Abubakar, therefore, appealed to the government, especially the management of the Local Education Authority (LEA), to liaise with the authorities of Abaji Area Council, NGOs, as well as philanthropists to come to the aid of the school by renovating the classrooms and providing the furniture.
A senior official at the FCT Universal Basic Education Board (UBEB), who preferred to remain anonymous, told our reporter that the board is making all the necessary efforts to renovate all the dilapidated primary schools across the FCT and also provide furniture in them.
“If you could recall some weeks ago, I told you that the board has already commenced the renovation of LEA schools across the FCT, and the village you mentioned cannot be an exception, God willing,” he said.
