Chaos in Nassarawa over 100 classrooms at the verge of collapse

More than 100 classrooms in Nasarawa State constructed in 2014 may soon collapse, an investigator revealed.

Reports sow that the classrooms were constructed for the“Taal Modern Primary Schools” introduced by Gov Umaru Al-Makura.

The primary schools are cited in Karu, Keffi, Kokona, Akwanga, Nasarawa-Eggon, Lafia, Doma and Obi Local Governments.

A correspondent who visited the schools observed huge cracks on the walls of most of the classrooms, while the roofs on some of the structures were wobbling.

It was also observed that most of the structures were generally dilapidated with some classrooms already inhabited by lizards and other rodents.

Some parents who spoke on the decaying school structures expressed fears over the fate of their children.

Mr. Umaru Ebeyan, Chairman of the state chapter of the National Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN), urged the government to “take urgent measures” to forestall a disaster.

“Government must take urgent steps to safeguard the lives of teachers and pupils; the danger in the schools are apparent and must be avoided,” he said.

Ebeyan regretted that the structures which were built less than four years ago were already dilapidated and he blamed the situation on “substandard construction work”.

“NAPTAN was not involved in the building of the school structures; we had insisted on being involved so as to monitor and ensure adherence to standards, but that did not happen,” he said.

He said that reports made available to NAPTAN showed that some of the structures were in “very bad state”.

“Government must take urgent steps to address the problem to avoid loss of lives,” he said.

Similarly, Audu Michael, a parent, advised the government to prosecute the contractors who did the shoddy jobs.

“Prosecuting the contractors will serve as a deterrent to contractors with similar intentions of cheating the system,” he said.

He said that some parents were already withdrawing their children from the schools to avoid any misfortune.

“No one wants to be a victim of negligence. No one wants to take unnecessary risk,” he said.

When contacted, Mr. Yakubu Ubangari, Secretary of Nasarawa State Universal Education Board said he was aware of the issue but declined further comment.

“We are aware of the situation in the classrooms. That is all that we can say for now,” he said.

Credit: Independent