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Pests in schools can damage books and other learning facilities as well as transmit diseases to pupils if they are not controlled. Pest populations increase in untidy areas in schools and schools can reduce pest infestations by identifying and removing conditions that will attract them.
The Local Education Authority (LEA) Primary School, Igu in Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory was infested with termites.
The termites were said to have developed some level of pesticide resistant and forced to head teacher out of his office after causing extensive damage to learning materials and furniture.
Murtala Muhammad, the head teacher has converted one of the six classrooms in the school to his office to enable him discharge his duties and responsibilities as head teacher, having been forced out of the two rooms that used to serve as his office by termites.
The head teacher accepted defeat and surrendered to the termites by relocating to one of the classrooms after his long-drawn but unsuccessful battle with the insects. All his efforts to force the termites out of the office proved abortive as they resisted all insecticides and other chemicals applied to kill them. The insects pose serious danger to the entire block attached to the head teacher’s office as the school library which is in the same block has been under serious attack by the termites.
A visit to the schools revealed that chairs, tables, book shelves, books, doors, ceiling, roofing-wood and other learning material in the office have been destroyed by the termites.
Murtala Muhammad, while lamenting his ordeal with the termites, said “My office is no longer conducive. I can’t work there. As you can see termites have forced me to leave the office. I have turned one of the classes to my office.”
He said the termites have damaged everything in the office within a short period of three months.
“For over three months now, we have been spraying insecticide but the termites are still there. They have damaged everything in the office. They have become something else. If you kill them now, tomorrow they will reappear.”
The head teacher, who noted that the insects are threatening the remaining blocks of classrooms, said the school authority has been trying to eliminate the insects by spending the school’s limited funds on insecticide.
More girls than boys are enrolled
He applauded the head of the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) of the school for encouraging his members to enrol their daughters in the school, saying the school has more girls’ enrolment than boys.
“If you check, you can see that the females are more than the males. The number of girls is increasing.”
But he decried the lack of commitment of some parents in partnering with the school to provide adequate learning environment for the children. “Some parents lack commitment. They don’t attend meetings and would not participate in our activities. If you invite them, they will not come.”
He said that the school has been facing security challenge due to lack of parameter fence, and that trespassers encroach into the school land due to lack of fence.
“You can see that we don’t have a fence. So, the school is not secured. People pass through the school compound anyhow. The learning materials face serious security threat. People encroach into the school lands.”
One of the teachers in the school, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that the termites have affected some of the classes in the school.
He pointed out that one of the major challenges they face is the infestation of the school by the termites, saying that something has to be done urgently before the termites take over the school.
When contacted, the Education Secretary of Bwari Area Council, Mr Solomon Ayuba, said the matter has been captured in the council’s budget.
“This is what we are discussing in the board now. We are discussing on many things like encroachment and the area you mentioned. I wish to tell you that it’s captured in the budget. By the grace of God you will see changes soon.”
