On a Thursday morning, Mr Olajide Francis, a father of four was seen leading his son to school. Before entering the school premises, the 9-year-old was seen defecating in a nearby bush that is close to the school.
When this reporter moved closer to him to inquire about the open defecation practice around the school premises, Mr Francis told the reporter that the school toilets are locked, and the children are left to decide on where to defecate.
He said,‘‘The school doesn’t have a functioning toilet. The children do practise open defecation. Sometimes, I ensure my child defecates before leaving home since they have none in their school and to avoid diseases since all of them defecate wherever they see.’’
This is the situation at St. George’s Primary School, the toilets have been unusable for months, leading the school authorities to lock them up due to their deteriorated condition.
However, limited classroom space forced pupils from different class grades to be merged into the same room, squeezing together in overcrowded conditions, while the classrooms itself showed no signs of recent government infrastructure intervention.
The Reality of Open Defecation
The dire situation at St. George’s Primary School is not an isolated case but a reflection of a broader public health crisis.
According to a report from ICIR the most recent statistics released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) joint monitoring programme in November 2023, about 39 million Nigerians and about 22 percent of its total population practice open defecation.
The report estimates the danger of open defecation which has been a common practice in many towns and villages across Nigeria that a child dies every 2.5 minutes because of unclean toilet, poor sanitation and hygiene.
A Broader Educational Crisis
Speaking with Dataphyte, a parent of a student at St. George’s Primary School, Mrs. Adejoke, expressed her displeasure regarding the dilapidated infrastructure, including the deteriorating roofs of the classrooms.
She remarked that this neglect has severely impacted the quality of education and has discouraged parents from enrolling their children in the school.
She noted that when the learning environment is neither attractive nor conducive, students are discouraged from attending school and pursuing a quality education, which contributes to the growing number of out-of-school children in the state.
Supporting her point, UNICEF reports that one in every five of the world’s out-of-school children is in Nigeria, with Ondo State alone accounting for 25,909 out-of-school children. This statistic emphasises the concerns raised by Mrs. Adejoke.
Similarly, former Headmaster at the St.Georges primary school from 2021 to 2023, Mr. Adeyeye E.O, stated that there was an abandoned block of classrooms inside the school compound.
“The block and classrooms there are not good and it was dilapidated, No one has been there to check up on the project and the block has been completely damaged which needs swift renovations,” he revealed.
Mr. Adeyeye further explained that the roof of some classrooms had blown off and is in need of renovations for pupils to use and the toilets are not in use because they are bad, so they remain locked.
The Possibility of a New Dawn and Unfulfilled Promises
In February 2022, Late Arakunrin Akeredolu SAN, the former governor of Ondo State, stated that his administration had renovated no fewer than 600 schools to improve the standard of education in the state.
“We have renovated over 600 schools. I don’t believe in mega schools, though I am not condemning them. At least the one in Owo is useful for the polytechnic. I believe in the renovation of schools, and we have touched over 600 schools in Ondo State.
We are committed to tackling the infrastructural deficit in Ondo State. However, funding is a big problem, but we will continue to do our best,” he remarked.
However, in 2022, Dataphyte reported that Ondo State has 948,353 public primary school students enrolled in 1,164 public schools, averaging 814 students per school and the state government had awarded contracts worth N1.145 billion to renovate six classrooms in 53 primary schools, but the implementation of these projects has been marred by incompleteness and substandard work.
Similarly, a budget of N10 million was allocated in 2022 for the completion of dilapidated classroom building and VIP toilets at St. George’s Primary School.
This project was a Zonal Intervention Project facilitated by Senator Ayo Akinyelure, representing Ondo Central, and overseen by the Public Complaint Commission.
The classrooms and toilets renovation was expected to improve the learning environment as well as an attractive and conducive one for the students which will encourage them to see the reason for going to school to acquire quality education.
However, the renovations were never completed.
When contacted by phone, the lawmaker, Ayo Akinyelure, who was responsible for the project, informed Dataphyte that the project had already been completed and that the funds had been spent.
“Please please please, I have done my best for that school, I don’t know the contractor. I have done the job and have given everybody their money, what is dilapidated in it again, forget about that one,” he explained and hung up.
When asked for details about the contractors, Akinyelure stated that he did not know and referred the reporter to the ministry overseeing the project. Subsequent calls to him went unanswered, and an email sent by Dataphyte received no response.
The Ministry of Public Complaints Commission was also contacted but did not respond. Freedom of Information (FOI) requests sent to the Ministry two weeks prior to the press time also remained unanswered.
Further, several online searches, including the use of Google Advanced search, yielded no related information about the project title.
The contractor’s details were unavailable, and despite numerous attempts to obtain their name, contact information, and other relevant details, neither the lawmaker nor the ministry provided any information.
When Dataphyte attempted to interview the current Headmaster, Mr. Kolawole, he restricted access to the school compound and declined the interview request. “I will not answer these questions because public officers don’t just attend to people who are not part of the system, and I am guided by rules and regulations,” he stated.
He further explained that public schools are regulated by the Ministry of Education, adding, “Anyone coming to conduct an interview or seeking information about public schools must come with a circular from the government.”
Expert’s Insights
Public Affairs Analyst, Mr Sam Olorunfemi described the state of primary school infrastructure in Ondo as “comatose.”
He attributed the dilapidation to several factors, including lack of maintenance, insufficient funding, poor governance, lack of accountability and corruption.
“Primary schools in the State, particularly in the rural areas are battling with dilapidated infrastructure which has made the learning environment inaccessible to our students as a result and has significantly contributed to the number of out-of-school children in the State,” he pointed out.
Mr Olorunfemi also added that the lack of modern toilet facilities poses serious health challenges for the students and negatively affects the learning environment.
“This deficiency has contributed to the spread of communicable diseases, just as classroom infrastructure is crucial for effective learning, proper toilet facilities are vital for safeguarding the health and well-being of our children,” he explained.
Mr. Olorunfemi emphasized that dilapidated classrooms in Ondo State have far-reaching consequences on the education sector, students’ well-being, and the community’s development.
He explained that the effects are numerous and significant, including an unconducive learning environment, poor academic performance, reduced student morale, an increased rate of out-of-school children, limited access to education, decreased teacher motivation, a rise in illiteracy, and long-term impacts on students’ future opportunities.
He further stressed the importance of addressing these root causes and effects to provide a conducive learning environment and ensure quality education.
Mr. Olorunfemi spoke extensively on the issue of legislatively nominated projects that remain unfinished, noting that several factors need to be critically examined. These include delays in funding releases, lack of necessary approvals, and failure to follow through on the nomination process.
He also pointed out that project abandonment is another complex problem faced by communities. According to him, one major issue is that some lawmakers push for projects without thoroughly analyzing whether such initiatives are genuinely needed in the area.
Additionally, he mentioned that the failure to pay contractors overseeing these projects often results in work being halted or abandoned.
Speaking on potential solutions, Mr. Olorunfemi elaborated that there must be a strong political will from our leaders to prioritize primary school education.
He also called for strong collaboration among critical stakeholders and increased funding for the educational system to revamp the dilapidated infrastructure.
Without these measures, he warned, our educational facilities may continue to languish in a state of neglect and abandonment.