Lagos Schools Where Students Sit On The Floor & Under Trees

Many pupils of Saviour’s Primary School, Igbeleyi-Alakuko, a suburb of Lagos, were on Thursday seen seated on the floor as their teachers taught them during school hours.

A fight had broken out between two of the pupils on Tuesday, which left one of them with an injured lip that had to be sutured at a nearby hospital.

The fight allegedly resulted from the insufficient furniture in the school, which the affected pupils struggled to use.

Many pupils in Primary four, Primary five and Primary six in the school were seen sitting on the floor due to insufficient furniture in their classrooms.

The problem was more pronounced in the classrooms of Primary six pupils, where in the three arms with over 100 pupils, only 17 chairs and desks were seen.

Some teachers at the school, who did not want their names published for fear of victimisation by the authorities, said that the situation had been the same for some time, despite repeated appeals made to the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) for help.

Kemi Lawal, the Chairman, School Based Management Committee (SBMC) of the school, said that the situation was very bad as many pupils in the school sat on the floor to receive lessons.

She said that SBMC had also appealed to parents to contribute money, so that the problem could be addressed, but that this had yielded no positive result.

“We levied all parents last term – during a parents’ forum – that they pay N200 each to assist us construct chairs and desks; but they are not responding,” she said. “We are pleading with SUBEB and the state government to provide furniture in the school.”

When contacted, Gbolahan Daodu, the Executive Chairman, SUBEB, said that government was aware of the problem, and that effort was being intensified to address it. “We are taking care of various furniture requests in our schools,” she said.