The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has revealed that it has concluded plans for the rehabilitation and renovation of facilities in Senior Secondary Schools in the FCT.
Chairman, FCT Secondary Education Board (SEB), Alhaji Yahaya Muhammad, stated this at Bwari Area Council during the continuation of intensive assessment of schools under SEB’s supervision in Abuja.
According to him, the step became necessary because available facilities in public schools had become overstretched, due to the influx of people into the territory.
“The visit is to enable us have on-the-spot evaluation, aimed at ascertaining current state of available facilities in the schools.
“This is in order to have a better opportunity for proper planning and projection in next year’s budget.
“The current SEB leadership has so far visited about 55 senior secondary schools, out of about 66 schools in the FCT and we will ensure that we visit the remaining schools, he said.
Muhammad said that the visit was to see what was on ground and to adequately capture it in the 2019 budget.
“We have seen where we have shortages of facilities, especially where we need renovations, inadequacy of classrooms in some of the schools, this is in order to ensure efficient learning process,” the SEB boss said.
He said the board would ensure that senior secondary schools in the FCT move with the tide of time, by providing learning environment to help students discover and develop their potentials.
Muhammad pointed out that it was the responsibility of the board to ensure that the facilities were provided in the public schools across the FCT.
In her responds, Principal of Government Girls’ Secondary School (GGSS), Dutsen-Alhaji, (one of the schools visited) in Bwari, Mrs Binta Nasir, said the challenges facing the school included inadequate classrooms, hostels and staff quarters.
“We appreciate the board for the renovation of some of our buildings recently. We now have a new library. However, we are still in need of some additional facilities.
“We need more classrooms; we equally need additional hostels, with beds. Our laboratories are also calling for attention. They need to be renovated.
“Classrooms with furniture and staff furniture are also what we need. We also need additional dining hall and furniture.
“And being a boarding school, especially for girls, additional staff quarters are needed, because what we have now is one room for each of our staff and we all know what that means,’’ she said.
Similarly, the Principal of Government Secondary School (GSS), also in Bwari, Dr Favour Nse, told the SEB team that her school needed general infrastructure overhaul, to improve teaching and learning.