The Nigerian Army Officers’ Wives Association (NAOWA) Model Nursery and Primary School Ojo, Lagos, established 31 years ago was left in a near-derelict state as a result of poor maintenance, with most of the buildings and facilities decayed. The poor state of infrastructure was putting the health of both teachers and students at risk until recently when the leadership of NAOWA resolved to rehabilitate the school and install new teaching aids, furniture and equipment.
For hundreds of pupils in the school, there could not have been a better time to learn in a conducive atmosphere than now that their entire school premises has witnessed a total facelift.
Established in 1985, the NAOWA School Ojo which offered quality teaching began crumpling due to poor upkeep, coupled with the yearly surge in the number of pupils which in most cases outweigh the facilities.
Dilapidated facilities in classrooms constantly exposed the health of pupils, many of whom were children of military officers, to risk. The plights of the teachers were no less different as they were said to endure pain, anguish and sometimes improvised learning materials to impact knowledge on their pupils. Room leaks in all the classes during the rainy seasons had books and furniture damaged.
“The classrooms had leaking roofs, the ceiling were falling apart, the chairs and tables were decrepit, the paint on the walls were washed out, our playground was indeed an eyesore and the total environment under which our pupils acquire knowledge was less inspiring,” one teacher said.
The teacher said both the primary school and NAOWA vocational school; also situated within the Ojo Military Cantonment were headed by one principal.
With five blocks of 22 classrooms and administrative offices, NAOWA Model School was said to have lacked in abundance the basics of a modern school.
That situation however changed when NAOWA President, Umma Tukur Buratai, the wife of the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, with other executives paid a visit to the school premises few months ago. The NAOWA leadership was said to have been overwhelmed after touring the school premises and witnessing the collapsed educational facilities where kids of military officers study. The leadership agreed to rehabilitate the dilapidated buildings and provide adequate learning facilities.
“The NAOWA team came at the end of the 2015/2016 academic session and promise that before resumption this month (September) for the 2016/2017 session, the pupils will have a decent learning environment to seek and acquire knowledge while the teachers will also have a decent atmosphere to impact knowlegde. The president said we shall witness a new model school we can be proud of and she did exactly that.
“NAOWA leadership was unhappy with the appalling situation and I guess as mothers who could not but imagine the risk involved in having young children under such awful conditions of learning, they felt the urgency to act fast,” the teacher said.
The association started work on renovation of classrooms and new perimeter fence during holidays and completed them before pupils resumed for the new session, the teacher said.
Mrs. Florence Adeosun, the Chairperson of Parent Teacher Association (PTA), said until its current rehabilitation, the poor state of the old fence had given unrestricted access to the school premises after school hours and vandals have destroyed most learning facilities.
“It has always been a thug of war between us and some miscreants who have turned the school premises to their abode. Of course there was little we could do to help the situation because we knew that the constant access the miscreants often gained to the premises was as a result of poor perimeter fencing.”
A total of five blocks of classrooms were renovated and new furniture, chalkboards, electric bulbs and fans were installed, Adeosun said.
She said the toilets were also renovated while new facilities for extracurricular activities were installed at the playground. The school’s administrative section with the office of the head teacher was also included in the refurbishment.
The gesture put in place so far has, expectedly, raised further expectations among stakeholders in the school, she said.
The association pledged to, in the not-too distant future, build a library, computer room, sick bay and security outlet, she said.
“We are very excited that after long years of waiting and hoping, our children will be kick-starting a new academic session in a more civilized and decent atmosphere. We are grateful to NAOWA and Mrs. Buratai in particular because she would not be the first president of the association but she has proven to be the one who heard our cry and was quick to wipe our tears,” Adeosun said.
The school has a total of 20 teachers and 500 pupils.
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