Charity school where pupils study in hardship

A cross-section of pupils in a class
| credits: Afeez Hanafi

FOLASHADE ADEBAYO and AFEEZ HANAFI’s visit to a Lagos charity school reveals an institution whose pupils are in hardship and in dire need of support

When schools resume after the second term holiday break later this month, pupils attending the Alive and Awake Royal Nursery and Primary School, a charity educational centre in the Abule Egba area of Lagos, may not have that luxury to return for learning.

Perhaps, the charity educational centre, which opened its doors to indigent and abandoned children in 2010, may be heading for liquidation, especially if the current realities facing the school do not change for the better.

Its proprietress, Pastor Mercy Temidire, confirms as much, declaring that the school owes teachers three months’ salaries, just as it has lost no less than seven qualified teachers due to hard times.

According to Temidire, the paltry tuition the school charges is not sufficient to pay its members of staff salaries as well as to keep the five-year-old school financially healthy.

She said, “It has been very challenging since the establishment of the school in 2010. We charge N1, 500 for those in kindergarten and nursery classes, while those in primary 1-6 pay N2,000. It is a charity school and under normal circumstances, we are not supposed to collect a dime from them; but we rent this building and pay N192,000 per annum.

“I sell foodstuffs to augment whatever we realise as school fees. Less than 40 per cent of the parents pay regularly, but we do not want to send them away. In fact, I owe the teachers three months’ salary now.’’

However, it is glaring to a first-time visitor that the school and its pupils need urgent lifeline.

The school, which caters for the academic needs of 90 pupils, was in a sorry state when our correspondents visited. A long stretch of the unpainted and uncompleted building in the school has only its front door intact. In fact, the management has yet to fix its windows, while the classes were petitioned by thin walls.

However, Temidire said it had always been her heart’s desire to get street children to school and rehabilitate them. According to the United Nations Children Fund, there are about 10.5 million out-of-school children in Nigeria.

The proprietress said her initial method of recruitment, which involved trailing and monitoring children hawking on the streets, was quite arduous. But with time, according to her, the school admitted more pupils through referrals.

“I started by following home children hawking during school hours in my neighourhood to question their parents. This is my ministry and the school is registered with the state government; but maintaining the centre has been difficult. This school may not reopen next term if we do not get financial help from well-meaning Nigerians. We used to have seven qualified teachers but we only have two left because we cannot pay salaries. I have informed parents and members of staff about this sad development,’’ she said.

The school’s front view

Indeed, pupils of the school are from indigent homes. Interviews by our correspondents showed that the children were already enduring pangs of hardship. To Isaac Samuel and his two siblings, Emmanuel and Esther, it was difficult to concentrate on their studies amidst malnutrition. Isaac could not hold back his tears as he recounted how life had become tough for his family.

The 12-year-old Primary Four pupil said, “My mum is a sweeper and my dad is a commercial driver. Most times, we drink gaari in the morning and eat eba in the evening. Sometimes, we bring rice to school. When the school is about to close and it occurs to me that there is no lunch for us when we get home, I feel sad. We started attending this school last session when our parents could not afford the fees in our former school.”

Narrating their own experience, 11-year-old Taiwo Eyitayo and her twin brother, who are in primary six, said sometime in January, their family slept in the uncompleted school when their landlord evicted them from their rented apartment on Olota Street.

Taiwo, described as the most intelligent pupil in the school, said, “Since my dad was sacked by (name withheld) telecommunications outfit he was working for three years ago, we have been living in poverty. Our landlord sent us packing because we could not pay for two years. We slept in this school for three days. It was an unforgettable experience. We had to endure mosquitoes and the cold weather. We are now living in a church. I am supposed to be in Junior Secondary School 1 now but for financial challenges. My elder brother could not proceed to Senior Secondary 1 either because of money.”

Skinny-looking Asetu Alase, who hails from Plateau State, said she had been living with her maternal grandparents since her father abandoned her at the age of four. As of 11am on March 26, the Basic 2 pupil had no idea when her breakfast would come.

“My dad is a soldier. He divorced my mum when I was four years old. I live with my grandparents. My mother is married to another man but she comes to visit me often. I have not eaten anything this morning. Most times, the proprietress gives me breakfast. I cannot remember when I took three square meals,” the nine-year-old girl said.

Solomon Akande, 12, said he had to hawk groundnut whenever he returns from school to support his mother, a sweeper. His sister, Rachael, is also in the school and in Nursery 2.

Nine-year-old Azubike Marvellous said he hardly had time to study at home, as he would not return from hawking until 7pm.

He said, “As soon as I return from school, I help my mother to hawk pap. I usually come back by 7pm when I will be too tired to go over my notes and do my homework.”

However, the challenges experienced by the school seem to be the experience of many charity and special schools in the country. These schools usually register in their respective states with the Ministry of Education, charge little or nothing as school fees. But they often grapple silently with financial constraints and resort to employing less qualified teachers to stay afloat.

In the case of Alive and Awake Royal Nursery and Primary School, Temidire said the two qualified teachers left at the school taught the upper primary classes last term. She also appealed to wealthy Nigerians to invest in ridding Nigeria of uneducated children.

“I am contributing my own quota and will like Nigerians to come to our aid. These children will become a problem in the future if they go back to the street. Officials from the Lagos State Ministry for Education always come here to encourage us, but we have no sponsors at the moment – either corporate or individual,’’ she said.

While Temidire awaits a helping hand, an education consultant, Mrs. Ibiwunmi Braithwaite-Akinnola, has said the environment is becoming more hostile to charity schools.

Akinnola, who is the lead consultant, Child Centre Limited, advised schools in this category to approach other schools for support. She also urged them to keep their records and other details up to date.

“One way to sustain these schools is to collaborate with more affluent schools with extra resources. The affluent schools can then approach parents and appeal to them to support these charity schools. Many of these big schools assist schools for the less privileged. My school used to support two charity schools in Yaba and Obanikoro areas of Lagos. You only need to be accessible and be an open book. That way, you have access to the network of the big schools,’’ she said.