Parents clamour for more teachers in public schools

By Edith Igbokwe, Damilola Kushimo and Olushola Okewole

Parents are agitating for more teachers to cope with the increasing number of their children attending public primary schools, an investigation by ECHONEWS has revealed.

 

Only one teacher is allocated a class of 52 pupils in the public primary schools in Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Area. This includes its two sister LCDAs – Isolo and Ejigbo.

 

Primary school pupil-teacher ratio is the number of pupils enrolled in primary school divided by the number of primary school teachers (regardless of their teaching assignment).
The figure is 14 points above the Nigerian average which stood at 37.6 as at 2010 climbing down 46.1 recorded in 2007.

It is also far from the one teacher to 32 pupils ratio reportedly achieved in 2009 by the Lagos State Government.

However, the prayers of parents may be answered soon, thanks to the recent decision of the Lagos State Government to recruit 1,000 new teachers.

56 primary schools in Oshodi-Isolo :
There are 56 primary schools in Oshodi-Isolo with four government owned vocational centres.
Out of these, Oshodi has the largest percentage of 31 schools and two vocational centres; Isolo owns 14 schools with two Vocational Centres while Ejigbo controls the least of 11 primary schools.
In total, as at October 2019, there are 21,953 pupils with just 427 teachers employed to teach the pupils, putting the ratio of teachers to the pupils at 1:52 with total number of 252 non-teaching staff and 67 local government administrators.

Oshodi, in its 31 schools, has 9,730 pupils with 4,762 male and 4,968 female students; there are 3,148 male and 3,204 female pupils across the 14 schools in Isolo making the total of 6,248 pupils while the total number of pupils in Ejigbo is 5,974 with 2,968 male pupils and 3,006 female.

When ECHONEWS went round the schools in Oshodi-Isolo, it gathered that most of the schools are in need of urgent intervention in terms of infrastructure, manpower and facilities which are mainly the provision of good buildings, fence, gate, library, sick bay, educational materials and others to help create the required conducive environment for teaching and learning.

The school management heads who spoke to ECHONEWS refused to be mentioned in newspaper as they identified those challenges, appealing to the government for urgent intervention.

Appraising the efforts of the local governments on primary schools so far, the Education Secretary (ES), Oshodi-Isolo Local Government, Mr. Femi Ogunwusi, commended them while urging them to increase their efforts and consider the primary schools under their jurisdictions.

Speaking on the input of the local governments in the primary schools maintenance, the ES said the three governments in Oshodi-Isolo have been trying in recent time as they are now coming up to assist the primary schools, urging them to increase their assistance.

Noting some improvements the local governments have brought to primary schools, he said: “In Isolo LCDA, Hon. Shammeh Olaleye has re-roofed the Akinbaiye primary school in Isolo; in Oshodi, the chairman, Ariyoh renovated some schools and renovation is still ongoing. And talking about the Ejigbo LCDA, the chairman is performing very well, he is building a school now, a school with modern structure, it is fantastic.”

He said the local governments should assist the head teachers in the primary schools to augment their running cost, noting that the running cost they get from the government is too small to run and maintain the school.

He implored the local governments to come in to make more provision for the head teachers to maintain the school facilities and some other things like medical, water and the like.
“And also the maintenance of the schools should be considered by the local governments as the controllers of the primary schools. They should help with the maintenance like broken windows, doors, ceilings, etc, to create conducive environment for learning,” he said.

He said though the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) has been informed about some of the challenges faced by the primary schools, the local governments should do more.
Slowly but steadily, the local governments are responding to Ogunwusi’s appeal.

Last month, ECHONEWS published plans by Ejigbo LCDA to open a new public school in Ilamose for primary school pupils.

During their visitation to the 11 primary schools recently, the councillors identified some of the challenges faced by the schools which vary from lack of white marker board to lack of desks and chairs.

This influenced the Leader of the Legislative Arm, Hon. Lanre Akinbowale to supply these needs to the schools as part of the welfare package on his birthday.

Individuals and organisations were supporting the government with their community social responsibility, an example was the gate of Ageke Primary School fixed by Ejigbo Central mosque.
After identifying those challenges, the chairman of Ejigbo LCDA, Hon. Monsurudeen Bello has promised to make the schools conducive for learning for the pupils and good places to work for the teachers.

Oshodi-Isolo LGA under the administration of Hon. Bolaji Muse Ariyoh has not been relenting in investing on education of the children in the council area.

To support the infrastructural development dream, the Ariyoh-led administration has successfully reconstructed six blocks of classrooms and toilets in Afariogun Primary School and has also refurbished Bashiru Diana Primary School in Ajibulu.

Presently his focus is on Temidire Primary School in Shogunle after inspection tour of the school premises and others located around to have first hand observation of the needs of the schools.
He therefore promised to extend his intervention to other schools within the council area one after the other.

The Chairman of Isolo LCDA, Hon. Shamsudeen Olaleye changed the roof of the Akinbaiye Primary School with a brand new Home Economics room and borehole which were identified as the major challenges faced by the school.

The council has also purchased two school buses to convey students to the School Village.