How dilapidated infrastructure, dearth of manpower continue to cripple Nigeria’s education, health sector despite funding

Mercy Adewunmi

The worry about Nigeria’s education seems to have no end. While we still battle with the JAPA syndrome taking away a large chunk of our best hands across industries, education, which is the bedrock of every developed society, seems like an abandoned bride in the home of a Polygamist here in Black’s most populous nation. From abandoned schools in rural areas to inadequate infrastructure in suburban area schools. In this expose, we will shed light on this situation by examining some public schools in Abuja.

The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) allocates intervention funds annually to 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to enhance access to basic education in the country. However, investigations by Mercy Adewunmi of Concise Daily have revealed that students are learning in deteriorating structures in government schools. Meanwhile, the funds meant to improve the situation still lie fallow.

Concise Daily visited some government-owned Schools in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and interacted with some students and school management who sadly expressed their displeasure on the current state of their school and pleaded for the government’s quick interventions.

A student of the Junior Secondary School Nyanya III, who plead anonymity was quick to cry out,

“All the buildings in our school are collapsing no windows, fallen ceilings, or leaking roofs and because of that, we’re always more careful when moving around the classes. We normally feel discouraged coming to school especially during the harmattan because of extreme cold even the rainy season due to the leaking roofs and lack of windows. We usually wish that our parents had money to send us to the better schools around us. The government should come and repair our classes, mount a water pump for us and connect us to electricity. They should supply our school with computers because we’re only taught from the textbook and left to our imaginations and again we lack teachers because of that, our teachers when stressed are usually temperamental which is not fair.”

“Take a good look at this building; it is a two-storey building as you can see. The foundation was dug and the building was erected over ten years ago then left halfway, it was just last year that the government came and did as if they were going to finally complete it but never did much, up to date.

Then for the classroom blocks in use, you can see how decayed the buildings are, the staircases all in a dangerous state and their rails are nothing to write home about. Is it the classroom windows, you can see them all for yourself, all shattered, the classroom ceilings all ripped off. It is just the mercy of God that is preserving the children and teachers. We even lack enough teachers and overpopulated students in each class. We are aware that some amount has been allocated for the educational sector and we continually hear promises that cause our dying hopes to come alive. We’re tired”. Added the staff of the school, who plead anonymity.

Concise Daily also visited some other government schools in the suburbs of the Federal Capital Territory; the situations there were no different.

“We have twelve (12) classroom blocks with twenty-six (26) classrooms in them, which only eighteen (18) classes are in use due to the terrible state the rest are in. We practically do not have what it takes to call our science laboratory, an actual laboratory. Out-of-use computers. No sports apparatus. Our school library structure has decayed with outdated books in it. We have twelve (12) toilets with just two (2) in use and no running water even though water is a necessity of life. The last time chairs were supplied to the school was in 2009. We have since been writing to the Universal Basic Education Board UBEB even in 2021 and there has been no positive response from them. We are understaffed and are poorly paid which is very discouraging. I feel the government has no value for education even at the primary level, which is a very sensitive level. We just pray and hope that they reprioritize their priorities and we and we also hope that Non-governmental Organizations NGOs will equally come to our aid.” a senior staff who prefer anonymity at the Pilot Science Primary School Karshi, Abuja.

“First of all, you have seen how the school environment already is. Shattered windows, ripped off ceilings, broken floors, no running water, no enough chairs and tables for the children to sit comfortably on to learn. With less than enough teachers to attend to each class. The building over there was erected since 2020 and has not been completed until date. The government should come to our aid and do the needful.” -Decried an anonymous at the Local Education Authority (LEA) Nurudeen, Nursery and Primary School, Karu Village, F.C.T Abuja.

“Here in our community Kungabokwu, most times we feel like the government is not even aware that we exist because of how we are neglected by the government. Both our Government owned School and Primary Health Care Centre were a total mess compare to what they presently are, if not for the intervention of some Non-governmental Organization who usually come to our aid ones in a while.

In the school, our children have no proper learning facilities, no toilets; no water in the vicinity, even the Primary Health Care Centre is no different. They are understaffed and that is where most of the women in this community visit especially the pregnant ones, there is no water running in there. We have just been running in circles” -Kungabokwu Resident.

According to Dr Hassan Sule the Director, F.C.T Universal Basic Education Board, UBEB the government are aware of the dilapidated structures and understaffed schools, and are doing their best to fix them.

“Government is doing their best. We have over-stretched budget provisions due to the constant influx of parents and their children into the Federal Capital Territory and we have buckets of Schools where admission is increasing by the day. The crowd is overwhelming and the school sometimes experience wind storms which in most cases is what is affecting their buildings and the government is doing their best to renovate these buildings. Children can’t stay at home. The Federal Government has made it compulsory for every child to have access to free education at least from nursery to junior secondary class. The Universal Basic Education (UBE), Intervention Fund disbursed to States and the Federal Capital Territory, covers three components of the Universal Basic Education programme and they are criteria for accessing the funds.

We are presently compiling list of contractors who were awarded contracts, worked for a while and abandoned the job halve way, maybe due to lack of proper supervision, death of the contractor or whatsoever. However, the truth is, government cannot do all these alone. Sometimes we even get supports from philanthropists”.

While Dr. Sule attributes the dilapidated school structures and lack of adequate leaning materials to over-crowdedness and windstorms, an educational Consultant who pleaded anonymous, thinks otherwise.

“The government’s efforts in the educational sector is far beyond what is needed. There should be a plan of action that gets all concerned stakeholders accountable. When contracts are being awarded, close supervision is required. What are the qualities of the building materials if the materials are of high quality then, it should last at least a long while and there should be a good maintenance and replacement structure.

The government mantra is that education is a responsibility for all, but somebody has to take the lead which is the government, via their body language and get committed”.

I don’t know how the private sector can partner with the government to support the educational sector because the environment is very antagonistic to their businesses. To start with, they are heavily tasked. Secondly, the unstable economy. You can imagine a company that has a budget at the beginning of the year based on their operations in 2022 on how much they will spend in 2023. In addition, in the middle of the year, all their expenses go up by almost three times their budget. If they had plans of getting involved in social responsibilities that will be the first angle they will look into, to meet the rising cost of doing business”.

It is often said that the younger generations are the hope of the better future envisioned, but how can they become with a dilapidated foundation and lack of competent moulders who can help to sharpen and shape their beautiful future?

The Health Sector is not left out with the episodes of unending dilapidated structures.

The government’s performance in the health sector has been abysmal. Investment in infrastructure has been poor, and meagre remuneration for health workers has created a massive brain drain.

Concise Daily made several efforts to interact with the Chief Medical Director (C.M.D) and Matrons in charge of some of the Primary Health Centres, but all efforts proved abortive as none were willing to speak regarding the dilapidated structures in the Health Sector for fear of being implicated and held responsible for the disclosure of sensitive information to the public and Concise Daily were ordered not take photographs.

Some patients who interacted with Concise Daily, but pleaded anonymity, lamented on the poor structures and services rendered in Public Health Centres.

There is a toxic mix of problems in government hospitals which includes inaccessibility of quality health care, poor hygiene, corruptions, lack of access to safe drinking water, poor health infrastructure, just mention a few. I have toothache and this is my second week coming here just so I can see doctor, finally I saw one today and I’ve now been referred to another on the complaint that they lack the required facility.”o

“Many good health facilities are situated far away from us here in the rural areas and we’re left with no option than the P.H.C here. The most common barriers to accessing health services by the population are the cost of services, distance to the health facility, and the attitude of health workers. The quality of health services here is generally poor and very discouraging. This has led to some of the a bit well to do amongst us to seek health care outside the village.” – Ibrahim, Kungabokwu Resident.

“The rooms are old and small, and they even lack competent hands and good facilities to attend to sick patients. The nurses are quick to anger. Coming for antenatal, we are mostly divided to groups and will still spend almost the whole day and feeling tired and useless ” – Amaka.

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, recently assured the executive members of the FCT Chapter of the Association of Resident Doctors, led by Dr Rahman Olayinka, their president, that his administration would ensure the Primary Health Sector would experience a complete turnaround for the better before the end of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu’s administration as necessary provisions will be made in the 2024 budget to improve the quality of services in health facilities in the FCT, many are still in doubt reasons to the government trademark of failed promises.

This investigative report is for THE GENDER, THE AGENDA project of Gender Strategy Advancement International (GSAI) and sponsored by The Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) and the MacArthur Foundation.