Following the recent declaration of a state of emergency on education in Kano State, the government has been urged to provide enough security in schools to stop persistent theft and vandalism.
The call was made by the head master of Yelwa Model Primary School, Dala local government, Umar Aliyu, while speaking with LEADERSHIP during the tour of schools to assess the progress of the state of emergency.
He explained that there had been serial theft in the school, where several items had been stolen in the last two months.
“As you can see, the school fence is very low, and this makes the school very porous by allowing criminals access to the premises.
“As you can see they pierced the ceiling of my office, as well as the computer office where they stole the entire wiring and sockets.
“They have also stolen the school generator, the gas pot of our Samsung refrigerator and our borehole system machine worth N500,000.
“They stole the school computer and the school bell as well”, the headmaster explained.
The school, which has 1,164 pupils, with 31 teachers only, is also faced with various challenges that include a lack of seats.
On a visit to another school, Ungogo Special Primary School, this reporter spoke with the head teacher, who also complained of a lack of teachers in the school.
“There are 2,943 pupils in the school and there are only 15 teachers including myself teaching them. We need more qualified teachers in the school.
“We have no functional toilet in the school, no dispensary, but we have a borehole, though it has broken down, but can still be fixed,” he stated.
The head boy, Nura Yusuf and the head girl, Jamila Isah, also confirmed the sad situation of open defecation by the pupils while calling on the government to build more toilets for them and provide them with qualified teachers.
