When the contract for the construction of one block of six classrooms at the Ogida Primary School in Edo State was awarded on the 8th of June 2020, there would have been ecstasy for teachers and pupils of the school. This would have been a breath of fresh air, especially for the 400 students who sit in groups of over 60 in the existing six-block classroom, which was built in 2015.
A new block of classrooms would have meant that pupils would have been able to sit comfortably at the standard 35 learners per class. Furthermore, it would have improved the school’s sanitary, library, and administrative facilities.
However, this jubilation was short-lived as the contract was re-allocated to another school with no replacement contract awarded to provide the much-needed facilities at Ogida Primary School.
Edo State SUBEB
The Edo State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) embarked on a project to provide necessary infrastructure for public schools. This project is championed under the Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation (EdoBEST).
The EdoBEST has seen over N6 billion spent on infrastructure for its public primary school in three years. Fundings for the projects come from both state and counterpart funding.
The incentive has seen 860 public primary schools benefit out of the 1,046 in the state linked to it. The project has a mandate of improving the quality of basic education programs in the state and linking the remaining 186 schools before the end of 2021.
Ogida Primary School Denied Basic Learning Infrastructure
Located behind Ogida market off textile mill road, Ogida primary school’s only block of classrooms is insufficient for the pupil. The school building has no library, and the classrooms are overcrowded. School books are kept in the toilet as that is the only available location because the principal’s office is also used as a classroom.
To address the school’s need for extra classrooms, it was supposed to benefit from one block of classrooms that was identified in the Edo state budget in 2020. The project with budget code 13020301 passed through the procurement process, and the contract for its construction was awarded to Sunamo Investment Limited in June 2020 to the tune of N50,920,199.
Also, at the same school, the contract for a perimeter fence was awarded to Primeville Global Contractors Limited. This project, reflected in the budget with budget code 13020301, had the sum of N11,329,041 awarded for its construction.
Dataphyte’s visit to the school to assess the level of work done and to ascertain if the school is gaining value for the money spent, revealed that neither construction nor renovation work were being carried out in the school
Instead, the contractors were redirected to use the sum awarded to carry on different projects at other schools. Both contractors complained of the amount being granted to them as insufficient due to the terrain of the school. “The school is located off Textile Mill road and Siluku road, a waterlogged area. This made the amount inadequate for the projects.” “To work on the school the money for the project needs to be increased to so as to accommodate the money needed to handle the erosion in front of the school.”
But rather than the contract sum to be reviewed upward to accommodate realities, the contractors were given a new contract to work on. Primeville Global Contractors Limited was asked to execute a similar project at Urommon Primary School while Sunamo Investment Limited was asked to construct a fence at Iriri Primary School and a 3 block of classroom and toilet at Akenzuwa Primary School.
Plight of the Pupils and Teachers
Taking a tour around the school, the Dataphyte research team found out that students sit in overcrowded classrooms to recieve lessons. The head teacher noted that “the classrooms are not enough to seat the pupils. “I had to demarcate a part of my office to form a classroom to accommodate some pupils, ” the head teacher said.
Inadequate classrooms are not the only problems facing the school, the head teacher went on to describe the challenges faced during the rainy season. “We find it difficult to access the school premises. We had to put funds together to construct the bridge you see in front of the school so that our pupils and teachers can gain access to the school environment.
The Dataphyte team also found out that the school does not have a library as books were seen stacked in what should be the toilet.
Double Denial of a Face lift of Ogida Primary School
The hopes for infrastructural upgrade from the state government with regards to the construction of facilities earlier awarded to the school are faint because the school is yet to be itemized in the state budget.
The state budget’s allocation to the construction of schools under the EdoBEST initiative dropped to N1.5 billion in the 2021 budget. The reduction in funds for the initiative means less available resources for schools yet to be covered.
Ogida primary school will again have to compete for attention with other schools when the state budget of 2022 is approved. The peculiarity of the schools’ terrain means that the school’s project will take more funds than other schools, a fact which may unfairly disqualify them from receiving funding.
Ogida primary school’s lifeline is the hope that more funds will be allocated to the EdoBest initiative and that the school will receive much needed attention .