Some of the residents who expressed their sadness while speaking with PUNCH Online on Monday lamented that their children trek a long distance to the other side of the community, Magboro-Akeran.
PUNCH Online reports that the community consists of seven densely populated settlements.
They include; Ilupeju, Sanni-Omotedo, Olowofela, Kajola, Sparklight, Redstar, and Wemabods.
Although, our correspondent gathered that the community had erected a school building some years ago, the institution has yet to begin operation due to lack of manpower.
They said many petitions had been sent to the government, but all their efforts to get the attention of the government had proved abortive.
Speaking with PUNCH Online, the youth representative of the Oke-Afa Community Development Committee, Mr Alihu Lawal, urged the government to assuage their sufferings.
“These children always come to my office to rest whenever they are coming from school. The stress is unbearable. We are pleading that the government should mobilise teachers so as to have a functioning public primary school in the community,” he said.
Lawal lamented that some parents could not afford to pay private school fees, adding that “because of that, you see the children hawking when their mates are in the class. Some are usually at home hiding until after school hours just to avoid shame.
“Some of the students had also dropped out because of the high cost of transportation and the risk involved in crossing the expressway.”
Another resident who gave her name simply as Bose, said, “The government should come to our aid. These children are the future of the nation. They should build a standard school where the less privileged in the community can enjoy free education.”
A student who identified herself simply as Ayomide, a resident of Kajola, said, “ I often trek to school. Going to school from here to the other side is not easy because it is too far. I spend N,000 every day. My parents gave me only N500 today and told me to trek back home.”
When contacted, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Science, and Technology, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu, said there was a process in establishing schools, adding that a minimum standard must be met before the government could take over any community school.
He said, “If you want the government to take up a community school, there are minimum conditions and when the standard is met, then the government can take it over.
“For primary school, they must have at least two blocks of building with six classrooms, general room for teachers, office of the head teacher, and they need to have at least eight teachers fully paid for months, and so on.”
While speaking on the mobilisation of teachers, Abayomi said, “We cannot provide teachers in a school that is not a government school. The school has to be a government school and be on the record before things like that could be done.
“If they’ve started something, we will go there, and if it meets these conditions, we can recognise it for immediate takeover. But if it doesn’t meet, we will give advice on what to do.”
