Broken Roofs, No Toilets: Pupils in Abuja School Suffer Neglect While ₦39 Billion Is Spent on Conference Centre – Report

Pupils at LEA Primary School Barwa in Abuja are enduring deplorable learning conditions crumbling infrastructure, overcrowded classrooms, and the absence of toilets while the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) administration reportedly spends ₦39 billion on the renovation of the International Conference Centre (ICC).

The revelation comes from MonITng, a civic accountability group, which issued a public appeal to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and FCT Senator Ireti Kingibe, urging immediate intervention to address the deteriorating state of public schools in rural areas.

“This is LEA Primary School Barwa, established in January 2005 behind Gosa Market along Airport Road in AMAC. It stands today as a stark symbol of institutional neglect,” the group stated.

According to MonITng, the school’s infrastructure is so poor that pupils in Primary One and Two are forced to share a single, unsuitable classroom. During frequent rainstorms, the building’s weak structure collapses, forcing students to huddle outside, be sent home, or skip school entirely.

“This isn’t education it’s abandonment,” the group declared.

The organization is calling for immediate renovation of all classrooms, construction of toilet facilities for staff and pupils, and reroofing of the headteacher’s office. These, they say, are not luxuries, but basic requirements for a dignified and safe learning environment.

“What we’re witnessing is a shameful contrast,” the group stated. “While our children sit on broken floors and scatter in the rain, ₦39 billion was spent on revamping the ICC an amount that could fix hundreds of rural schools.”

MonITng emphasized that despite claims by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) that ₦250 billion had been allocated for improving public schools across the country, many schools like LEA Barwa remain in squalid, inhumane conditions.

“This misplacement of priorities is a profound injustice,” the group added, calling for a state of emergency to be declared for rural public schools in the FCT. “Visit LEA Primary School Barwa. See the reality for yourselves. Reallocate resources now. Our children’s futures must not be sacrificed for vanity projects.