The Need For Urgent Intervention On Rafin Tambari Primary School In Bauchi State -By Kelvin Enyia

The challenges, including inadequate classes and teaching and learning materials and lack of WASH facilities, among others, faced by pupils of Rafin Tambari Primary School, located in the Rafin Tambari Community of the Bauchi Local Government Area of Bauchi State.
One of the teachers of Rafin Tambari Primary School, who craved anonymity, said ruefully, “For over 9 years since the establishment of this school, we have had to battle a lot of challenges, especially during the rainy and harmattan seasons. During the rainy season, we battle reptiles. There have been many times that the school would come to an abrupt close for the day because the children saw a snake within the compound.

“Sometimes, snakes would fall from trees and we learn under the same trees. Twice, snakes had fallen from the trees while we were teaching the pupils and that would be the end of school that day. One of the times, the female teacher vowed that she wouldn’t go back to teach again.

“Now, we are getting into the harmattan season and these children don’t wear sweaters or cardigans, so they’ll come to school in the cold and will stay outside. While teaching them, you’ll see them shivering because of the cold and you’ll be teaching them but they won’t even hear what you’re saying because they are cold.”

Investigations by our correspondent revealed that the Rafin Tambari Primary School was first constructed in 2014 by the then Chairman of the Bauchi Local Government Area, but began operation in 2015

When the school was established, only one block of three classrooms was constructed and handed over to the community although there were primaries one to six.

The remaining classes were left abandoned, but nature intervenes as there are some trees within the school premises, whose shade serves as temporary classrooms. For the 9 years that the school has existed, the trees have served as classrooms for pupils of four classes.

Investigation revealed that despite producing and sending seven sets of pupils into secondary school with the eighth set to be graduate in a few more months, the school has remained a shadow of it old self. The pupils were all produced while learning under the trees.

The teacher explained, “During the rainy season, the moment we see heavy clouds gathering, we tell the children to go back home and there will be no classes for that day, even if academic activities for the day are just starting. Because even the three available classes have holes in the roofs and are leaking.

“If you ask the three classes outside to join the ones inside as a way of running from the rain, you won’t be able to control the pupils because there will be chaos. So, we’ll just ask the three classes to go home and we’ll continue teaching the other three classes and even then, those in the classes are not spared, especially if the rain comes with a strong wind, the pupils will be drenched in the rain because there are no doors and windows.”

He said sometimes the teachers would be under the tree teaching the pupils and “Fulani herders will be passing and they’ll just lead their cows inside the school environment and this will disrupt teaching and learning activities for the whole of that day,” adding that the whole school would be in disarray and the pupils would take to their heels out of fear of the cows, causing an end to schooling activities for that day.

“There was this day we just saw them on top of the hill behind the school; when I asked what they were doing there, I was told that they went to defecate there. I immediately followed them and warned them never to go there again. Imagine if a child falls from there and dies or gets injured, the parents will say that this happened in the school,” the teacher stated.

According to him, another problem is that of transportation for teachers to come to the school. It was learned that because of the recent fuel subsidy removal, which has caused a hike in transportation fares, teachers now find it difficult to go to school to teach since some of them come from long distances.

He said because of the problems in the school and those associated with transportation, some of the teachers had sought transfer to other schools leaving, their positions vacant as no replacement had been made by the authorities concerned. He added that out of the 15 teachers in the school, seven had been transferred, while one was on study leave.

He appealed to the Bauchi State Government to come to their aid, “because this school is in a suburb of the metropolis. From the metropolis to this place is barely two kilometres, but it has been abandoned for all these years without any intervention. This is about 9 years since this school was established, but we have only three classes.”

Speaking on the matter, the Sarkin of Rafin Tambari, also lamented the condition of the school saying it was impeding the development of the community.

He said, “I appeal to the state government to help us and build additional classes for us and even renovate the ones we have. Most of the pupils sit outside under trees to learn. our children sufferings, because the school is by the road and the children are suffering from dust, cold and rain.

“In the past, the school wrote to the government and we also wrote, and we know that the government has limited resources and many issues to attend to, but we beg the government to consider us and come to our rescue so that our children can have access to basic and quality education in a more conducive atmosphere.”

Kelvin Enyia, Mass Communication Department of Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic Bauchi can be reach by kelvinenyia081@gmail.com