Cross Border Insecurity, Banditry Causing Congestion in FCT Schools

Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Administration has ascribed the overcrowding across all schools in the six Area Councils to banditry and the alarming security situation in some of the neighbouring states.

The Mandate Secretary of the Education Secretariat, FCTA, Dr Danlami Hayyo, made the allusion during the Secretariat’s 17th end of the year media briefing yesterday in Abuja.

He said the crisis, which is protracted in next door Niger State and some other northern states is affecting the quality of education in the FCT because of the pressure on teachers.

“Part of the challenges just like you have stated about PTA teachers, because of the quality of education in FCT and maybe the security situation of some neighborhood states, that makes FCT schools to become congested.

“So many parents run into the FCT from part of Kaduna, Kwara, Niger, Nasarawa, Kogi, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, Borno, Yobe because of banditry.

“So, this makes FCT schools to be congested, and whenever there is congestion, when you divide the number of staff and the number of student, there must be an unequal distribution of the teachers in the FCT. That’s why you have seen a lot of PTA teachers because schools are supposed to be managed and governed with community interventions.” 

“If the government cites a school in a place, definitely the community of the school should keep their support within the management of these institutions cited in the area, “ Hayyo said.

He, however, assured that there was no harm when PTA teachers were supporting the public teachers in the public schools, saying this kind of collaboration was required for the management of FCT schools.

He also expressed that the FCT Administration was responding to the problem of out of school children, which is now going to about 13 million children across the country by establishing temporary shelters through collaboration with agency for mass education whereby youth or these out of school children are trained on skill acquisition, and so many things.

Hayyo also disclosed that Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike has approved the sum of N13.1 billion for the renovation and construction of new toilets and provision of furniture across secondary and primary schools in the Six Area Councils for next year.

He said the money will be shared to the Councils according to their peculiar school project requirements.

“The minister of FCT, who has been described as Mr. Project, has approved new constructions, renovations or rehabilitation, provision of furniture and  construction of toilets in FCT secondary and primary schools to the tune of over N13 billion.

All the projects will be executed in 2024 and we are not going to give detail of how many schools will be renovated or constructed in each Area council of the FCT because the school needs of the Area Councils are not equal,” Hayyo said.