Whereas the school has one building, the structure is only habitable for wild animals as it has no doors, windows nor seats and tables.
No fewer than 200 pupils of Jangaru Primary School, Maikunlele in Bosso Local Government Area of Niger State have been left at the mercy of nature as they receive lessons sitting on bare floor under a big tree in one corner of the school compound surrounded by bushes.
In a video shared online by TrackaNG which visited the school, the pupils were seen sitting on bare floor and on the extended roots of the tree as their teachers taught them writing on a wooden black board supported with a stick.
Neither the teachers nor the pupils have either chairs, tables or any decent teaching and learning materials as the teachers either sit on their motorcycles or stand till the end of school hour.
Whereas the school has one building, the structure is only habitable for wild animals as it has no doors, windows nor seats and tables.
SaharaReporters learnt that Jangaru Primary School is the only primary school in the whole of Maikunlele community.
“This is Jangaru Primary School, Maikunlele, Bosso LGA, Niger state, where over 200 pupils are taught under a tree because there is no furniture available for the children to use. This is the only primary school in Maikunlele community, and it is in this condition,” TrackaNG lamented as it confirmed the state of the school.
In July this year, the United Nations Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF), decried the declining education funding by the Niger State government as the state kept declining in the release of its education budget allocation since 2017.
A senior education manager, UNICEF Field Office Kano and Girl Education Project, Michael Banda, noted that the total education budget in the state increased from 2017 to 2021, however, the funds released by the state government to the education sector were consistently reduced.
Similarly, the education officer of UNICEF Field Office Kaduna, Francis Elisha, while making a presentation on Niger State Ministry of Education Budget Performance, said that in 2017, the state allocated the sum of N5 billion to education but only N1.7 billion was released.
Also, in 2018, the state allocated about N5.4 billion but only N439 million was released, while in 2019, it allocated about N3.1 billion to education but only about N199.8 million was released.
According to the UNICEF official, Niger state government allocated N426 million to education in 2020 but only about N55.4 million was released and in its 2021 budget, the state allocated the sum of N4 billion to education but only about N591.5 million was released.