Despite the Kwara State Government's avowed commitment to education, learning in many primary and secondary schools in the state remains an unlikely experience, SUCCESS NWOGU reports

"With only two teachers overseeing 130 pupils at the St. Joseph's Primary School, Ora-Ayetoro, Araromi-Opin, I wonder how effective learning in the school will be."

This comment comes from no other than the Olora of Ora Aiyetoro in Ekiti LGA of Kwara State, Oba Christopher Odeyemi.

According to the Oba, the school, with 60 male and 70 female pupils has just the headmaster and a teacher.

Odeyemi adds, "We have complained to the Local Government Education Authority. Thank God, the Secretary to the LGEA is from this village but the problem has yet to be solved. We have about 130 pupils, but we have only two teachers - the headmaster and Mr. Ogunyemi. This problem has been on for about five years now.

"We have talked to the government. They may post someone but even before his letter gets here, the person will seek redeployment. It has been very difficult to get teachers to stay in this school. I wonder why this is so. We are very friendly and our community is peaceful.

"The government should post more teachers to this school. Because of the lack of teachers, the educational growth of the pupils in the community is affected."

The scenario at the St. Joseph's Primary School, Ora-Ayetoro, is not too strange from what obtains in many other public schools in the state. From Kaiama, to Baratun, Moro, Bacita, Patigi and Kosobuso council areas, it is the same unpleasant experience of lack of teachers and poor state of infrastructure in many of their public schools.

A parent from Kaiama, Alhaji Yusuf Ahmed, says many schools in the council lack good classrooms and adequate staffing.

These inadequacies, he notes, are making many parents not to send their children to public schools in the council.

Ahmed adds, "It is not a palatable situation. It was even worse in the past but there have been some interventions. Even at that, the state of many schools in this area is not satisfactory. There are many classrooms with leaky roofs, while some schools do not even have enough classrooms such that pupils are forced to learn under the trees.

"Another problem is the lack of teaching staff. We do not have enough teachers in many of the schools in this area. Some of the teachers posted here complain that they do not have good residential homes and that this place is very remote. So they go away almost as soon as they are posted to serve in this community."

"We request the government to intervene in addressing this deplorable situation, so that our children will know what learning in the right environment is all about."

A classroom block at Community School, Inaja Alaro, Oyun

Another parent, Mrs. Abimbola Ahmed, whose children attend the Community Local Government Education Authority Primary School, Epe-Opin, Ekiti LGA, the condition of learning in the school is unfriendly.

She says, "We are facing many problems in this school because all its buildings are no more useful. The pupils have only two functional classrooms. There are more than 120 pupils in the primary school and if you include kindergarten class, then we will be thinking of having no fewer than 160 pupils. Besides, there are no toilets, just as pupils and their teachers defecate in the bush.

"I learnt that during an evaluation exercise early in 2014, the school authorities complained to the government. However, we are still looking forward to receiving a favourable response."

The Chairman, Parent-Teacher-Association of the St. Joseph's Primary School, Ora-Ayetoro, Mr. Matthew Idowu, while corroborating Oba Odeyemi's account, notes that with more tutors, teaching and learning will improve in the school.

Idowu says, "For more than five years now, we have not had enough teachers in this school. The school has no fewer than 130 pupils. If it has up to five or six teachers, many of the problems we are having here will be solved."

From Ilorin council area, a parent, Alhaji Sulaiman Abdulkareem, says though there has been appreciable improvement in the learning condition of schools in the metropolis, some classrooms still need a facelift.

Another parent from Moro LGA, Alhaji Abibat Mogaji, while frowning upon the state of dilapidation in many public schools, urges the state government to invest more in infrastructure upgrade of schools in the council.

According to him, though the government has given a facelift to some classrooms in the area, many more classrooms require urgent attention.

But though many stakeholders complain about the poor condition of these schools, the Chairman of the state Universal Basic Education Board, Alhaji Lanre Diabu, disagrees with them.

According to him, since assumption of office two years ago, public schools in the state have witnessed a turnaround.

Diabu adds, "I will not agree with them that in the state there is sizeable number of dilapidated structures in our basic schools. We came on board about two years ago. When we started, I made a pledge that before leaving office, pupils will not learn under terrible conditions, such as sitting on bare floor to study or teachers having their own difficulties.

"Since 2011 till date, the state SUBEB, alongside the federal and state governments, has successfully constructed 295 structures/classrooms across the 16 local governments for schools that do not have adequate classrooms. We have done, up to date, 249 of remodelling of the dilapidated structures. SUBEB has spent almost N3bn on the construction and rehabilitation of classrooms.

"My promise is that before the end of my tenure, we must have touched all the schools, especially schools where pupils are learning under the shades. We have provided 3,010 sets of furniture to the schools. The number of schools you have in the state is 1,448 primary schools and about 365 junior secondary schools. Not all the schools are bad. There are still ongoing projects. The state government is pumping very huge amount of money into the project. Before this year ends, we will ensure that we have the structures in proper perspective."

The SUBEB boss, who also disagrees with the claim that schools in the state do not have enough teachers, says many of those posted to rural areas either abscond or play truancy.

According to him, the board has devised monitoring strategies to address the challenge.

Meanwhile, the state governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, has said that his administration recognises the importance of education to its overall development. According to him, the state has made tremendous progress in the sector.

In 2014, the governor said, his leadership embarked on special interventions in schools across the three senatorial districts.

"The state spent N61.2m on construction and rehabilitation of 20 schools, including public primary schools in 2014. In the same vein, furniture was supplied to some basic schools with noticeable shortages. In order to support teachers in our primary and junior secondary schools, 100 motorcycles were purchased for the School Support Officers in all the 16 LGEAs.

"Furthermore, N70m was released for the payment of the National Examination Council and the National Board for Technical Education fees for 8, 235 pupils that sat for the 2014 Senior Secondary Schools Examinations. Similarly, N22m was released for the conduct of the Joint Mock Examination for Senior Secondary 2 pupils across the state.

"In our effort to ameliorate the shortage of teaching staff in schools, a total of 206 new teachers were employed across 193 political wards of the state," the governor declared.