FEATURE: Schools in Kwara suffer as contractors fail to execute classroom projects

Ojoku Grammar School in Oyun Local Government, Kwara State, was once renowned for its high quality education and abundant facilities since its establishment in 1974. The school used to attract many parents to enroll their children. However, all its excellent qualities have been lost due to neglect and lack of funding over the years.

The entrance arch resembles a barren settlement that is in dire need of government attention for thorough rehabilitation. The collapsed classrooms have caused a significant drop in student enrollment compared to before.

The decline in infrastructure and inadequate learning facilities have doused the flame of quality education in schools, causing many parents to lose interest in enrolling their children due to the potential collapse of the remaining classrooms. Some parents have also withdrawn their children from school.

Abdulhayi Isiah, a former student of the school, said when he was in primary school, the hustle and bustle and high level of learning at Ojoku Grammar School motivated him to tell his parents that he wanted to enroll in the school for his secondary education. However, a few years after he enrolled, the school began losing students due to lack of teachers and conducive classrooms.

“There used to be a lot of students, and if you saw them coming out after closing time, you would be amazed by their numbers and their very neat appearance. When I was still their student, the situation was better, but we had problems like a lack of teachers, so some stopped coming, and we also saw some entering new schools.

“I think it’s worse now, looking at the entrance, this school needs attention. The government hasn’t done much to renovate this school to its original condition. Even though the community has increased, this school is still losing students,” said Mr. Isiah.

In Nigeria, there are conflicting data on the number of out-of-school children, ranging from 10.2 million to 20 million. However, in 2022, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recorded that the total number of out-of-school children had surpassed 20 million. This places the country among the countries with the highest number of out-of-school children, with Kwara State accounting for 22 percent.

In order to renovate the damaged infrastructure and prevent its deterioration in order to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of quality education for all children, an intervention was carried out to renovate the school with new classrooms.

Project

In 2022, the federal government under the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) allocated N30 million for the construction of three blocks of three classrooms at Ojoku Grammar School to address the shortage of classrooms and enhance quality learning in the school.

Facilitated by former clerk of the Nigerian National Assembly, Ojo Amos, the Federal Ministry of Education awarded the contract to Skidoo Construction & Engineering Limited.

However, an investigation by this reporter uncovered several irregularities that contradicted the scope of the project.

According to documents obtained, the Ministry of Education paid only N20.6 million, and awarded a contract to Skidoo Construction & Engineering Limited to build two blocks of two classrooms, which did not meet the initial approval.

Surprisingly, during a reporter’s visit to the school in June, it was discovered that the contractor had only completed one block of two classrooms, despite having been contracted for two blocks of two classrooms. This discrepancy raises questions about when the scope of the project was changed and how well the current status of the project matches the initial specifications.

The floors of the building started to crack and the furniture started to collect dust due to poor construction.

Bilkis Adam, a parent of a student at the school, told this reporter that the school has lost its former glory, adding that the school has always been the community’s top choice for secondary education.

“The school wasn’t like that before, but you know the problem with the government, they often don’t care about maintaining and paying attention to things. Because of the lack of teachers, the school lost a lot of students. If the school had been cared for from the beginning, it would still be functioning well until now,” he said.

Speaking about the project, Mrs Adam said the classroom block described by this reporter was always locked whenever she visited the school. She added that there was a need to open it completely to create more classrooms for them.

“I don’t think they have started using it because I haven’t seen it opened. However, if it is a government project and it is finished, they should start using it, especially since the school does not have enough classrooms to accommodate more students,” he added.

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Vice Principal Bolaji Akande, who spoke on behalf of the principal, said the classrooms were already in place but were only used for departmental classes. He explained that students from the arts, science and commerce streams shared the classrooms but were separated into new classrooms during departmental-specific subjects.

However, he expressed his objections to the changes in the scope of the project and the poor construction of the facilities provided, describing the work as ‘very shoddy.’ He added that the contractor did not involve the school management in the construction design to ensure harmony.

“As far as I know, we just heard that one of the former students in Abuja facilitated a project in this school, we didn’t even see him, they (the contractor) just came and started working on it, and during the implementation the contractor did not interact with the management of the school at that time,” Mr Akande complained.

“We heard it should be more than this, it should be three blocks, but this is just what is here. The floor is not good, it should not be like this, it is not done well at all,” he said, tapping the floor to show the poor work done by the contractor.

Abdullateef Faruk, a community leader, expressed concern about the condition of the school and the new project, and said if the government is going to start paying attention to the school, they should ensure strict supervision of the contractor.

“We have been demanding improvements to this school for a long time. It is a great community school and our children have always wanted to go there, but looking at the building, the quality of education that this school offered in its early days cannot be compared to what it is now.

“However, corruption will always exist, if the government wants to start a project, they must involve the community and the school to supervise the progress of the project, and they must also supervise so that the contractor does not do things differently from what is supposed to be done,” said Mr. Faruk.

Fatal consequences, scary data

In Nigeria, inadequate infrastructure has affected the education sector, leading to a surge in the number of out-of-school children and a lack of quality learning across states, including Kwara State.

In Kwara State, poor quality education, influenced by lack of funding and staff, has hampered student progress and encouraged cheating in senior secondary school certificate examinations such as WAEC and NECO, placing the state among the low performing states.

In 2021, Kwara State recorded recorded 54 per cent of students passed five credits, including English and Mathematics in the WASSCE, ranking the state 34th nationally in the number of credits passed.

Meanwhile, in 2019 the state recorded 165 schools blacklisted by WAEC for exam cheating.

While Ojoku Grammar School is plagued by poor infrastructure, hampering conducive learning, the school is in dire need of complete rehabilitation and additional classrooms to help it function to its full capacity.

However, a FOI letter sent by post to Skidoo Construction & Engineering Limited asking about alleged deficiencies in the project was ignored as it had not been responded to at the time of filing this report. Searching NG-Check revealed that the company may not have enough experience for construction projects, as it is registered in Corporate Affairs Commission in mid-2019, demonstrating three years of experience in the construction industry.

A similar request addressed to the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Public Works, seeking detailed information and clarification on the discrepancies in the implementation of the project, had not been responded to as of the time of filing this report.

By: Abubakar Abdulrasheed

This story was supported by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) under the Collaborative Media Engagement for Development Inclusivity and Accountability (CMEDIA) Project funded by the MacArthur Foundation.

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