A community group in Benue State, the Tyoshin Strategic Group (TSG), on Saturday expressed concern over the continued collapse of public primary and secondary schools in the Gwer-West Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.
The group also attributed persistent attacks by herdsmen in the area to challenges from the local government, stating that this situation has contributed to Gwer-West being among the LGAs with the highest number of out-of-school children in Nigeria. They called for immediate intervention to protect the community’s academic future.
Dr. Eng. Felix Atume, leader of the group, expressed these concerns during a meeting with the Chairman of Gwer-West LGA Council, Hon. Victor Torsaa Ormin, in Naka.
He lamented that currently only five state primary schools are functioning in the entire local government area.
Atume emphasized that the number of out-of-school children is increasing daily due to the continued collapse of public schools in the region.
He proposed that internally displaced persons (IDPs) currently occupying school facilities in displaced communities such as Kula, Jimba, Aondoana, Achagh, Atukpu, Naka, Camp Nagi and Agagbe be relocated.
He suggested converting schools in the affected areas into mega schools to accommodate the growing number of students.
Furthermore, it recommended temporarily establishing primary schools in Naka City for all displaced students, similar to the arrangements made to facilitate voters’ rights during the 2023 general elections.
“We have come to express the alarming deterioration of the situation of public primary education in Gwer-West LGA and to call for immediate intervention. As it stands today, only five state-owned primary schools are operational in the entire LGA, due to growing insecurity and displacement of communities by Fulani herdsmen.
“As a matter of concern requiring immediate action, we wish to suggest the conversion of schools in displaced communities into mega schools. The schools in Kula, Jimba, Aondoana, Achagh, Atukpu, Naka, Camp Nagi and Agagbe should be converted into mega primary schools to accommodate the increasing number of pupils, while IDPs currently occupying school premises should be relocated.
“All displaced primary schools will be temporarily established in Naka City, in the same way that electoral units from the affected districts were relocated during the last elections.
“Considering the fact that primary education remains the foundation of formal education and a key determinant in the calculation of federal allocation to LGAs, we wish to suggest that the SUBEB teachers recently deployed to Gwer-West be fully deployed for the benefit of the learners in the area.” The group leader appealed.
The group, however, commended the council president for his efforts so far in addressing security issues and congratulated him on his recent award as the best performing president on security matters in Nigeria.
In his response, Gwer-west LGA Council Chairman, Hon. Victor Torsaa Ormin, commended TSG for its development initiatives in bringing Gwer-west’s educational position back to its old glory days.
The council president revealed that plans were underway to establish a central camp so that IDPs could resume normal academic activities in the affected schools.
While assuring TSG that his administration was prepared to restore the dignity of education in local government, Hon. Ormin promised that the idea of a mega primary school would be communicated to the relevant authorities for immediate attention.
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