How traders’ invasion obstructs learning at 84-year-old school

Alkaleri is one of the largest and oldest local government areas in the southern senatorial district of Bauchi State.

Inhabitants of the local government are mostly farmers and traders. Because of the quantity of farm produce and livestock in the area, the popular Alkaleri market that takes place every Sunday was established. The market is always patronised by hundreds of traders from Bauchi and neighbouring states, which has made it one of the economic hubs in the state over the years.

Weekend Trust reports that the Alkaleri Central Elementary School was established in 1940, the first in the area, with one block of two classrooms, an office and a stall. It had two teachers, with Muhammadu Duguri as head teacher and Ahmed Arabi as the Arabic teacher, with 20 pupils – 13 boys and seven girls.

When the school was established, it was far from the market, but with development and growth in population, business activities expanded and the place became congested with people from within and outside Bauchi State.

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The school also kept growing in population as inhabitants of the town increased, which led to inadequate space even for the market, which expanded to the primary school and people’s houses.

 Weekend Trust also reports that the school does not have a perimeter fence; hence it is easy for traders to occupy it for business activities, a situation that poses both health and psychological risks to pupils and teachers alike.

Apart from the noise pollution that fills the learning environment, pupils are also exposed to toxic odours, even as they usually spend some learning periods cleaning up the mess left by traders, who also defecate and urinate at every corner of the school. 

Our correspondent also reports that since there is no school on Sundays, traders take their goods to the football field and front of classrooms.

Trading activities go on from the football field, classrooms to the entire premises of the school, it was gathered.

Residents told our correspondent that any time it rains on a market day, traders and farmers are forced to break into the classrooms to keep their grains and goods. This act has left many classrooms without chairs and desks, while doors and windows have been destroyed. And government invests heavily to rehabilitate the school.

Another problem is that open defecation has become a menace on the premises as school toilets are not sufficient for the traders. Water facilities were also destroyed due to the population of the traders using them.

Some teachers in the school told our correspondent that even the head teacher’s office is not spared, a situation that poses threat to examination records and sensitive materials.

It was also learnt that traders sometimes spend a night in the school premises ahead of the market day to avoid a situation where they may be unable to get vehicles to convey their goods on Sunday.

A resident of the area, Usman Ismail, urged the government to relocate the market, saying, “This school has been here for ages. The market is an obstruction to the school and the Bauchi-Gombe road, but government seems to be dragging its foot to relocate it. We cannot count the number of people who have been injured and those that have died on this road.” 

A resident who gave her name as Huwaila Gidado said, “Every Monday, you see pupils with their brooms sweeping the whole premises. The place is always too messy for these small children to clean. This is where people defecate and urinate without proper cleaning. As you can see, the place was designed for school and not the market.”

Speaking at a one-day community mobilisation and back-to-school campaign at the palace of Emir Rilwanu Suleiman Adamu in Bauchi recently, the newly posted chief field officer of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Bauchi office, Dr Nuzhat Rafique, said the outcome of learning for children at the basic education level in the country had the worst indicator, especially in the North-east.

She said, “In Bauchi, the early childhood development index indicated that only 26 per cent of children are on track. The foundational reading skills for 7 to 14 years stand at nine per cent, while the foundational numeracy for the same age category stands at eight per cent.

“Numerous obstacles prevent consistent learning achievement, school attendance, timely enrolment and completion. Some of these obstacles include inadequate evidence-based policy and planning, limited budget allocation, significant shortages of qualified teachers and classrooms, poor infrastructure, poor teachers’ remuneration, cultural norms, health and safety worries, and dependence on children for income and household tasks. 

“The situation calls for a concerted effort by the relevant stakeholders to address these challenges.”

 Reacting to the situation, the public relations officer of the Bauchi State Universal Basic Education Board, Mohammad Abdullahi, said the board was aware and worried about the penetration of the market into the school premises. He reiterated the fact that initially, the school was far from the market, but due to population growth, traders started using the football field without permission. 

He said, “The Bauchi State Primary Education Board constructed several classroom blocks and office accommodation in the schools, but traders have overstretched the facility. We have plans to fence the school to prevent this problem.”

An official of Alkaleri Local Government Area also said, “We are aware of the problem; we have even informed the state government, that was the reason Governor Bala Mohammed constructed a bypass to reduce congestion along the major road. He is planning to relocate the market, while the Primary Education Board is also making efforts to protect the school by constructing fence round it. After that, we will lock the school and ask guards to protect it. I believe that these measures would help to reduce the problem before the relocation of the market.”