Two years after its declaration, Taraba State Government’s free education policy is facing serious security challenges. VICTOR GAI reports that if the challenges are not dealt with, the government’s free education policy may not achieve the required benefits.
Free education policy increases access and enrolment in schools, especially for children from low-income families, which leads to a more skilled workforce and human capital development. This policy also promotes social equity, reduces child labour and can foster political participation and national unity by removing financial barriers to education.
When Taraba State Governor Agbu Kefas’ free education drive was inaugurated, the people thought the benefits of the policy would be all-embracing. But, this is not the case as the policy is being affected by security challenges due to the activities of vandals and hoodlums, who break into schools and pilfer equipment meant for teachers and pupils.
Kefas had in 2023 declared a free and compulsory education in the state, a development that led to a high enrolment in schools. However, the policy has not yielded its desired results over the last two years as the schools remain in dilapidated conditions and with little to show in terms of teachers’ welfare. Also, the promise made by the government to provide school uniforms, bags, sandals and instructional materials for the pupils was met.
Schools under deplorable conditions
Schools investigated by The Nation in Jalingo, the state capital, showed that pupils were learning under deplorable conditions. The schools include Dinyavo Primary School, Government Model School, Mohammadu Nyah Primary School, Low Cost Primary School Magami and Government Science School. The schools had dilapidated facilities like windows, doors, desks and others. Pupils were seen sitting on bare floors during classes.
Residents in the state capital said if schools in state capital could be in such conditions, what would be the fate of those in the rural areas.
Insecurity in schools
Aside deplorable condition of facilities, another threat to educational development in the state is the security of schools, pupils and teachers. Cases of insecurity in the schools also include theft, vandalism, thuggery, physical violence and gang fights among pupils. Thefts of chairs, desks and tables are also very common, leading to lack of such facilities for pupils and teachers to sit.
A female teacher at Dinyavo Primary/Secondary School, who craved anonymity, told The Nation that some of the desks were stolen by hoodlums and sold to scrap dealers.
The head teacher of one of the schools, who also did not want to be identified, confirmed the situation and said that some of the hoodlums were caught with the desks and the case was reported to the police.
He blamed the theft on lack of adequate security mechanisms to checkmate the activities of hoodlums, who used the place as a hideout to perpetrate their nefarious activities. He added that the only security man in the school is overwhelmed and was being underpaid because he is under casualisation.
“We have a security guard, but he is not a permanent staff. I use to give him N5000 for night shift duty.
“The hoodlums stole the chairs and desks during raining seasons. They sold the metal parts to scrap dealers. The case was reported to the Civil Defence Corps.
“We had complained to the authorities that we don’t have a fence around the school,” the head teacher disclosed.
In 2023, shortly after the free education policy was declared, a teacher at Government Model School, Bassey Sardauna, was brutally murdered by some pupils led by an ex-student, James Williams.
It all started after a pupil was punished by the teacher for coming late. The affected pupil organised his members and they inflicted matchet wounds on him. He was declared dead on arrival at the hospital.
The Nation also learnt that the situation is the same in the other four schools, as miscreants have taken over the facilities.
A resident, Salisu Ibrahim, while commenting on the situation, said: “If schools in Jalingo, the state capital, could be that vulnerable, one could only imagine how others in the local communities across the vast state would look like.
He continued: “The issue of insecurity in schools has the potential of truncating the free education policy of the government despite all the investments in the sector.”
An official at the Government Science Secondary School Jalingo, one of the largest schools in the state capital with 3,000 students, narrated the security situation in the facility.
The official, who did not want to be named because he is not permitted to speak, said despite the situation, the state is doing well in certain national examinations.
“Insecurity is the biggest challenge. It has been a perennial problem. Over the years, there has been hardly any employment of security personnel. The last employment was in 2014. The problem is that if a security man is employed with a school certificate qualification and he later advances his education, by the time he graduates, he would want to be upgraded to a teacher.
“The office of the Secretary to the Government of the State has been doing a lot by recruiting security personnel from the Civil Defence Corps under the Safe Schools Initiative. The office takes care of their monthly allowances and logistics.
“When I came, I realised there was no single security personnel. We had a computer centre. Almost all the gadgets were looted. We sat with the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) and decided to employ security personnel on a casual basis. We also initiated the peace committee to ensure a secured environment,” the official stated.
The need to equip schools for CBT exams
Another senior teacher, Mallam Abubakar Sulaiman, commended the free education policy of the present government and appealed to Governor Kefas to equip the schools to meet up with the innovations and standards of national examinations.
“The free education policy is a good policy because it has lifted a lot of burdens off parents. Applications for WAEC/SSCE, NECO/SSCE, BECE/Junior WAEC examinations were funded by the state government. That is why we have a large turnout. Before the free education policy was introduced, we hardly recorded 10,000 students, but the latest figure is around 30,000.
“The state was first in the Northeast in the last NECO/SSCE. By next year, the whole country would be writing exams using Computer-Based Test (CBT) and no more pen and paper tests. The schools lack facilities for that. The students need to study computer studies practically,” he added.
Commissioner: we have put measures in place
Also, the Commissioner for Education, Dr. Augustina Yahaya, while commenting on the issue said many things were put in place to deal with the issue. He added: “Right at the national level, there is the Safe Schools Programme that was set up and we have our Safe Schools team here led by the Civil Defence Corps. In fact, I don’t know how to quantify their level of commitment.
“Every week, they update me on what is happening. With their presence, the pupils are aware that we have security around.
“We used to have calls almost on a daily basis on security issues. We have plans to build a security post around the Government Science Secondary School because it is one of the flashpoints of insecurity.
“There are cases of vandalism there and I even told the Civil Defence Corps Commandant that they need to extend their operation to other schools that are flashpoints of insecurity,” he said.
Funds for principals, PTAs for schools’ rehabilitation
Meanwhile, the state government plans to release funds directly to school principals and head teachers in collaboration with the PTAs for the rehabilitation of schools in their domains.
This was disclosed recently by the governor after presiding over a joint meeting with principals and head teachers in Jalingo.
The governor stated that while the ongoing constructions of new school structures were in progress, he was committed to initiating immediate interventions to address existing infrastructural needs in public schools.
Kefas explained that the meeting was convened to discuss rapid measures for renovating current school facilities before the completion of new buildings.
A principal confirmed this, saying: “We are now in the account opening stage. It is 98 per cent completed. The proposals were submitted. Money would be released to schools through local government accounts.”
The Commissioner of Education also added that the government’s plan to engage schools in the rehabilitation of structures was gradually becoming a success. Dr. Yahaya said the schools’ committees would rehabilitate and protect the investments.
“We have already started getting submissions from local governments so that we will release money to them to handle the projects themselves.
“We are aware of the lack of fences in schools and we are already working on them. We are going to embark on sensitisation of the people to own the investments to be put in place so that they would not be vandalised. But we would not just sit and fold our arms,” she said.
