The Borno State Government has bemoaned the problem of overcrowding and inadequate classrooms in public schools, a situation which negatively impacts the quality of learning in four local government areas of the State.
Bulama Kagu, Professor and Chairman of Borno State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), made this known while hosting a delegation of the Save The Children, an international non-governmental organisation, led by its Country Director, Duncan Harvey.
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Kagu noted that due to exodus of surrendered ex-fighters and their families as well as returnees, the population of pupils in public schools, is adversely affecting the quality of teaching and learning facilities in four local government areas, namely, Kala-Balge, Nganzai, Mobbar and Ngala.
He explained that the Government is planning to close down and return all the IDPs to their ancestral homes, saying many of these communities lacked classrooms and insufficient teachers which kept their lists multiplying.
“We need more support to tackle the out-of-school and overcrowding of puplis, help us construct temporary learning centres to discongest the current learning centres in some LGAs.
“We need immediate interventions in these four LGAs, especially temporary learning centres to accommodate school children. In some schools, we have 150 puplis in a classroom against 40 pupil per class so the challenge is enormous and we need your urgent intervention”, he said.
Kagu explained that as State Government making efforts to close all displaced camps, it would compound out-of-school children, overcrowding and inadequate classrooms in remote areas.
“We are appealing to the Save The Children to redouble your efforts to support us and you have every reason to tell your donors that Borno State deserves more interventions.
“We are appealing to you to expand your interventions beyond these seven LGAs, especially local governments like Mobbar, Nganzai, Kala-Balge and Ngala respectively. We have so many out of schools children and overcrowding in these four LGAs which have been our major problem. They should be considered as people are going back, the numbers kept going very high”, he added.
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Earlier, Duncan Harvey, the SCI Country Director, reiterated their unwavering commitment to the provision of basic quality education to the children affected by the conflicts in the region, noting that education is the fundamental right of a child and SCI would continue to support Government to ensure children get access to learning.
“This is my first visit here, I am here to listen and learn from you. We can develop our partnership with you; I just reassure you that we are strongly committed to the provision of basic education for the children. As Country Director, I will make sure we invest and build on the success we have had”, he assured the Government.
