In Dadiya Ward, Balanga local government area of Gombe State, Chinton Primary School’s pupils and their teachers squeeze into a single block classroom and a row of makeshift shelters fashioned from straws of farm produce, a scene that community members say is worsening learning conditions and threatening the future of their children.
For residents such as Isaac Garba, there is a need for urgent intervention to rescue the failing structures. “Urgent call for classroom construction at Chinton Primary School,” he appealed. Isaac maintained that the current facilities are inadequate, hindering effective teaching and learning. “Building new classrooms will provide a conducive environment, reduce congestion, and enhance the quality of education. Let’s invest in our children’s future by providing them with a safe and motivating learning space.”
Babanga, being the native town of the state’s deputy governor, Manassah Daniel Jatau, locals say they had hoped proximity to power might speed up the repairs or construction, but lamented that visible change has been slow. “So sad to think that we have able and capable people in government who tend to forget us,” Romance Vincent said.
Corroborating other residents, Dickson Christopher, emphasised that the condition of the school is not good for the present and future of education and urged the state government to act promptly.
Some government officials confirm the acute shortage of formal classrooms.
According to Muhammad Garba, the education secretary of Balanga LGA, Chinton Primary School has only one block classroom built by the community for primary one to six. The rest of the pupils, he said, crowd under improvised structures. Garba said a government-built structure once stood but has since collapsed, leaving the school exposed to the elements, such as rain, cold and sun.
“The makeshift shelters are a temporary solution,” Garba said, explaining that rainy seasons often force the school to close when there are downpours. He acknowledged government’s efforts elsewhere, but not that the local education authority cannot fix every failing structure at once. “There are several other schools that need attention,” he said, adding that some schools in the area were recently renovated and expressed the hope that Chinton would be next.
While education advocates say the poor school structures reflect a larger problem across rural Nigeria, parents and guardians of the Chinton Primary School pupils continue hoping for the best and fearing the worst when the rainy season returns. “Building new classrooms will provide a conducive environment, reduce congestion and enhance the quality of education,” Garba said, reiterating his appeal. “Chinton Primary School needs this urgent attention.”
Abdulhamid Mohammed, director of School Services at the Gombe State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), explained that the state government is making efforts to improve infrastructure across local governments in the state.
“The state government is doing its best. It is trying to build school structures across all the LGs.
The state government builds schools every year,” he said.
He outlined the steps involved in getting government intervention. According to him, communities often send formal requests to SUBEB for classroom construction, while monitoring teams from the state and local governments also visit schools to assess needs.
“Sometimes the affected communities write to us requesting the construction. We also have monitoring teams that go round to assess where there is a need, and the LGs have their own committees that monitor such schools and report their findings and recommendations,” he said.
For the pupils of Chinton Primary School, the conditions of their school mean disrupted lessons, lack of desks and heightened exposure to the weather. For the parents, every new classroom built will be more than infrastructure. It will be a vote of confidence in a child’s right to learn, come rain or shine.
Residents noted that teachers in the school are also finding it difficult to maintain focus and deliver when classrooms are improvised or overcrowded. Parents worry not only about immediate comfort but also about the long-term consequences, such as lower learning outcomes, fewer opportunities for children to acquire the skills and higher dropout rates.
Recently, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Bauchi Field Office representative, Mohammed Kudi, said the number of out-of-school children has risen to 737,000 in Gombe State.
“In Gombe State, the number of out-of-school children has risen to 737,000, a shocking figure that should concern every stakeholder,” he said, stressing that success will depend not just on enrolment drives, but on ensuring retention and completion of basic education.
He highlighted that more than 80 per cent of school-age children nationwide face challenges of accessing education, with poverty, cultural practices, insecurity and weak infrastructure contributing to the problem.
