Community members construct additional learning spaces in Jangargari, Kafin Wachiyawa and Dungara primary school of Takai LGA. Kano state
A PLANE SUCCESS STORY
To ensure fidelity of implementation by the trained teachers and as part of the plans to improve teacher support, the PLANE team conducted school visits to monitor book distribution and lesson observation on January 11, 2023. Part of the challenge observed was that the Primary 1 and Primary 2 pupils learn outside the classrooms, and the moment it is sunny, teachers have no option but to send the pupils home before 12:30 pm. This is because the school does not have enough classrooms and an enabling environment for learning.
To enhance the school-community relationship and improve learning outcomes, the State Technical Advisor, PLANE Kano, discussed with three communities in Takai LGA how to provide an enabling environment for the pupils in Primary 1 and 2. This is to ensure children, especially girls are enrolled, retained, and complete basic education in these communities. Between January 16 and 19, 2023, a school-based management committee met in each of the three communities. The head teachers of the three schools, who happen to be the secretaries of the committees’ mobilised parents and educational stakeholders that attended the meetings. The objective of the meeting was to provide an enabling environment for the pupils to learn.
Youths from Jangargari community constructing the two block of classrooms and the headteachers office.
Jangargari Primary School is a school that was established in 2018, with the enrollment of 425 pupils (235 female and 190 male) and 2 pupils with special needs. The school has Primary 1 to 6; however, classes rotate to learn using a shade as a classroom. This is because the school has no single structure. All the pupils learn under a roof by the roadside.
When the PLANE team visited the school, there was a need for community dialogue to mobilise resources to create an enabling environment for the learners. During the community dialogue, the state technical advisor enlightened them on the importance of community effort to complement the efforts of the government in resolving educational challenges. Mallam Musa Isah, a member of the school-based management committee, said: “All my life, I have never attended a meeting that yielded results like the meeting today with the PLANE officers. They have enlightened us about our roles and brought progress to our school. I am impressed with what I heard, and I pray we move to action, so I have donated my farm to the community to build the school”. Another member of the committee, Mallam Isah Maigado, instantly donated a bundle of zinc, and other members donated sand and blocks. They all agreed that each parent would contribute ₦2000 to buy another bundle of zinc in addition to the items donated during the school-based management committee meeting. They have built two classrooms and the headteacher’s office.
In Dungara, the primary school was established in 2017 and has 532 pupils (336 male and 196 female), with five pupils with special needs enrolled. The community members met on the 16th of January. Also, an SBMC meeting was organized by the SBMC chair, and the Mothers Association also met on 17th of January and discussed the way forward. At the end of both meetings, they agreed to improvise, using local resources like sticks, palm trees, and raffia to construct a temporary shade for two classrooms.
In Kafinwachiyawa, the community met, and fifteen of them donated building materials. These materials included two bundles of zinc, one thousand mould blocks, sand, water, labour, two bags of cement, food for the labourers, and a volunteer who will use his truck to bring all the items donated to the building site. The Kafinwachiyawa community has laid the foundation for a block of two classrooms.
While on an advocacy visit to the Local Government Education Authority, the State Technical Advisor gave feedback to the Education Secretary, who said he will discuss with the SUBEB chairman of the need to construct two classrooms for those communities. He also said he will discuss with the LGEA Education Committee adopting the strategy of discussing the challenge of not having enough classrooms with influencers and other education stakeholders.
