The FCTA
Universal Basic Education Board, has decried the use of public school grounds
in both rural and urban centres in the territory for the dumping of refuse.

The board’s Director, Mr Adamu Noma,
who expressed his displeasure over the act in an interview with newsmen in
Abuja recently said such practice had adverse consequences on the health of the
school children.

“Let me use this opportunity to call on
members of the pubic to desist from doing that kind of thing where school
premises are used as dumping grounds for refuse; it is very bad; if they knew
that it is not good for their own children, they wouldn’t be doing that.

“In most of our schools we have
designated incinerators where refuse are dumped on weekly basis and sometimes
on daily basis, fire is set on them and you burn them.

“In some areas and communities, people
capitalise on some of these areas and then send their refuse and even dump them
even beside the school and then the evacuation of some of those things will be
beyond the capacity of the school.

“We have so many places like that
especially if you look at the schools in urban centers here where some of the
school premises are used as dumping grounds by the neighborhood. That is very
bad; we must desist from doing that kind of thing.’’

The director, who also stressed the need
for rural infrastructure development to promote sound learning and enhance
grassroots development, noted that neglecting rural communities, placed the
school children there at a great disadvantage.

He, therefore, called for synergy
between relevant government agencies in the provision of these facilities.

“Let me call on all the agencies
charged with the responsibility of providing some of these basic social
amenities to our rural communities.

“For instance who is supposed to
provide rural roads to rural communities so that our teachers will find it
convenient to travel to their respective areas.

“Who is charged with water, the
provision of water to rural communities, so that our schools can equally
benefit.

“Mention any social amenities in rural
areas; there are agencies charged with the responsibility of providing some of
these facilities.

“If these facilities are provided, you
find out that we in government, we in the Universal Basic Education Board, will
not spend money again providing them.

“Now take for instance, in the urban
centres here we don’t spend much money again in providing water facilities
because already some of these schools have water connected to them.

“It is in the rural and semi-urban
areas where these facilities are not provided that we have to spend extra money
in providing the facilities ourselves to these schools.’’

He maintained that for equity in learning, development of personal
hygiene, sustainable environment and improved health, such amenities would
improve learning conditions and boost school development.