FCTA Warns Against Encroachment On School Lands

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), through the Education Secretariat has cautioned residents against encroaching on school lands, saying the development would not be tolerated under his administration.

The administration gave the warning yesterday following an on-the-spot assessment of the teaching and learning condition at the LEA Primary School, Bagusa, a village in Dei Dei community of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).

The school, with some classes without walls was established by the past administration and had about 200 pupils and 16 desks, spread across six different classes, including a creche.

The mandate secretary of Education Secretariat, Dr Danlami Hayyo also pledged the immediate building of classrooms for the pupils as well as a junior secondary school to ensure the easy transition of final year pupils to the next level.

Hayyo said the secretariat had received reports about the existence of the school and the plight of pupils, hence his decision to embark on a physical assessment to ascertain the immediate and long-term needs of the school.

He said the secretariat is committed to addressing the underlying issues that led to the unacceptable situation at the school.

He said, “We came for inspection of this school because we learned that the school was established here by the previous administration. After the establishment of the school, there was no single structure provided by the previous administration.

“So, it came to our notice when we saw a report in one of the newspapers, so the minister of FCT directed us to come and inspect the school so that the minister will see how he can intervene so that the school will look very nice and the children will learn in a very conducive environment.

“The minister has directed that I come and supervise the school so that in no time, construction will commence in this school. We are going to convert the school from the current structure to a new modern structure where both the primary and the junior secondary school will be constructed here so that the pupils will learn from Primary One to Six in a conducive environment.”