From Garba Abdullahi Bagwai, in Kano
There are growing concerns that the dilapidated structures at Government Girls Secondary School, Magwan in Kano, may be affecting teaching and learning, as at least half of the students sit on the floor for lack of chairs and desks.
A visit to the school by our correspondent revealed that some students have resorted to using interlocking bricks and wooden planks as makeshift seats during lessons.
Several classrooms, including the vice principal’s office, have leaking roofs and ceilings, while some rooms are inaccessible to teachers and students during the rainy season.
Checks showed that the school has not undergone renovation for about a decade, despite its proximity to the Kano State Government House.
The only relatively safe classroom blocks on the premises were built during the administration of former Governor Ibrahim Shekarau, using funds paid by a telecommunications company as rent for a mast installed on the school premises.
The PTA Chairman, Alhaji Nafi’u Habibu Haris, said stakeholders had done their best to draw government attention to the school’s condition.
He said the issue was taken to the State Ministry of Education and the State Secondary School Management Board in 2017 and 2018, in collaboration with the school management, but no meaningful response was received.
He said the association made another attempt under the current administration, but no result has been achieved.
According to him, worried by the situation and the government’s failure to intervene, the Parents’ Association met with the principal and resolved to write to philanthropists who usually support public schools in the state, seeking help to renovate some of the classrooms.
“However, our aim has still not been achieved. As a result of all these challenges, we have become extremely tired and frustrated,” he said.
Haris said lack of water supply was another major challenge, adding that the laboratories also had leaking roofs and required urgent repairs.
“I am calling on philanthropists to come to the aid of the school by ensuring the educational development of our children. We need classrooms, and some of the students sit on mats because there are not enough chairs and desks. Due to the limited number of safe classrooms available, you will find over 100 students crowded into one class,” he said.
The principal, Hajiya Amina Mohammed Sagagi, confirmed the situation and said the school had written to the ministry on February 17, 2026, after which a quantity surveyor was sent to assess the condition of the facilities.
She expressed hope that the assessment would lead to action.
But the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Alhaji Bashir Baffa, disputed the claim, saying the school management had not submitted any formal letter to the ministry on the matter.
“Government inherited over 3,000 dilapidated schools from the primary, secondary and tertiary institutions. However, the government, under the able leadership of Engineer Abba Kabir Yusuf, is doing its best within the limit of its capacity to renovate schools for the advancement of teaching and learning across the state,” he said.
Baffa said the scale of decay in school infrastructure across the state was so huge that even if the government devoted its entire 2026 budget to renovation, it would still not be enough.
He, however, assured that the government would continue to renovate school buildings, recruit teachers and improve their welfare.
