HDI Unhappy With Facilities In Schools Within Lagos State

Abiodun Omotosho

The Human Development Initiative (HDI) shows it’s dissatisfaction over the facilities in most schools in Lagos State after the monitoring of the projects of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) across the state.

This was mentioned at a review meeting held on Monday February 24th, at HDI’s office in Onike, Yaba, Lagos. The meeting was attended by stakeholders of HDI, which included Monitoring Team, Civil Society Organizations and the media.

Officials of HDI team made know their findings in the presence of the media, while stating that the funds given to UBEC/SUBEB must be duly monitored and accounted for.

The Program Officer of HDI, Mr. Johnson Ibidapo narrates that they were neither friends nor enemies to anybody, but that they would ensure value for the funds meant for development purposes.

Members of the HDI Monitoring Team, who visited selected Local Governments and Local Council Development Areas in Lagos State including: Mushin, Orile-Agege, Eti-Osa, Ajeromi, narrated their experiences to the stakeholders.

The Monitoring Team that visited Ajeromi Local Government, led by Mr. Ismail Ashiru said that a visit to Christ De King Primary School, which ought to be SUBEB model school to private schools, is nothing to write home about.

He said that the school was built in 2014, “but as we speak, the roofs of some of the classrooms in the school have fallen off”.

“Since the roofs of some of the classrooms have fallen off, some pupils in upper classrooms were evacuated to the lower classrooms, and the environment of the school is not conducive for learning by the children.

“How could the roofs of a school built in 2014 fall apart like logs of tree, it’s in a big shame,” Ashiru said angrily.

He added that this must have been caused by poor implementation of the funds made available for the development of the school.

He said: “all the roofs of the classrooms have fallen off, you can’t see anything new about the school, children can’t learn under such environment.

“The classrooms are jam packed with children because the children that were evacuated from the upper classrooms have joined those in the lower classrooms, therefore, the classrooms are not conducive for learning”.

“Christ De King School is in a bad state, the government should come to their aid”.

“If HDI had been in existence before now, such things would not have happened. It is because we had poor implementation of the project, you can’t build classrooms in 2014 and the roofs would have gone bad in year 2020.”

The Monitoring Team that visited Orile Agege Local Council Development Area (LCDA) to ascertain the level of work done complained that the contractor handling the building project in the school they visited was not on site.

They also said that they discovered that there was no sign post to signify the contractor, its client and the duration of the project. They said that they noticed that there was no single pillar for the fence to stand on.

When they visited the site again, they discovered that the contractors had stopped work. “We patiently waited for the site engineer, who revealed to us that the management had stopped them from working. We asked him why, and he said that it was because they didn’t make pillar.

“We then asked him if he wanted to build a fence without pillar,” said the leader of the team.

The team commended the Chairman of Orile Agege LCDA, Pastor Sunday Babatunde, who they said donated chairs and desks to the primary school they visited.

Mushin Local Government case is different as the HDI Team that Storm the area said that the management of Ideal Primary School in Mushin lacked project priority.

It was also revealed that of Ibeju Lekki and Eti-Osa areas needed urgent attention of the government, and that most of the schools in Eti-Osa are very close to prison and that the classrooms had no roofs.

Executive Director, Human Development Initiative (HDI), Mrs. Olufunso Owasaniye (r), Program On, HDI, Mr. Johson Ibidapo (2nd l), HDI Volunteer, Mrs. Toyin Oyebola (2^nd-r) and Intern, Dr. Eniola Soremekun, during HDI Nigeria with the support of MacArthur Foundation, CSO and media Roundtable meeting on the Utilization of Universal Basic Education Funds in Lagos State, held in Lagos on Monday, Photo: ABIODUN OMOTOSHO