Lagos Moves To Redevelop Tolu School Complex In Ajegunle, Lists Benefits
As parts of the move to improve on the teaching and learning process for pupils, the Special Committee on Rehabilitation of Public Schools (SCRPS), in Lagos State, has been mandated by the Lagos state government to revamp the densely populated Tolu School Complex in Ajegunle.
The committee is to ensure that the entire complex is redesigned in a manner that the building appears more befitting and appealing as well as become cynosure of all eyes to improve teaching and learning in the affected schools.
Recognising the enormity of the job given to the committee, its Chairman, who spoke with some journalists on Thursday in Ikeja, said the move was very much necessary considering the need to put Education system in good shape in the state.
From his body language and submission, the SCRPS is much interested in addressing the infrastructural decay in the public school and, as a result, intervened heavily following the mandate it got from the state government.
It is saddened to know that the entire school complex, which covers an expanse of approximately 11.73 hectares of land, houses 36 schools and all are in bad condition. More heart-rending is that fact that majority of the buildings are with blown off roofs, cracked walls, broken window panes, abandoned toilets which encouraged open defecation by the students, just to mention a few.
It is pleasing to know that the Tolu School Complex was established in 1981 during Alhaji Lateef kayode Jakande administration, and the Mass Education Policy, at that time, necessitated the reclamation of the parcel of land from the lagoon, in order to accommodate the teeming population in that area, who must have access to education.
The successive administration under the leadership of Air Commodore Gbolahan Mudashiru, who was the Governor of Lagos state from 1984-1986, continued from where his predecessor stopped, by upgrading the existing Jakande blocks to standard ones and more schools were added to the ever growing community.
To continue on the historical background of the Tolu School Complex, the facility has been in existence for over four decades and the high level of usage without proper maintenance in place have resulted to their different levels of infrastructural decay. But as things stand now, the Lagos State government is hell bent in making immediate intervention, to practically rehabilitate those that need rehabilitation, demolish and re-develop as the case may require.
Haleem Smith had, in his address, revealed how several reconnaissance and assessment visits to the Tolu school complex have been done by the SCRPS officials and various problems were identified. This obviously is part of the move the Committee has made.
Some of the problems that were encountered include the population of students being on the higher side that the available classrooms, which are not even conducive for learning. So, the pressing need, at that instance, becomes erecting additional classroom blocks.
Also, the existing blocks require urgent rehabilitation as the blocks are in various stages of dilapidation. Some other problems identified include lack of recreational facilities, laboratories, teachers and principals’ offices and toilets, non-clearly defined boundaries within the schools, which encourages inter-school scuffles.
Others include inadequate access roads within the complex, recurrent issue of flooding, security issues in form of school break-ins and theft, non-availability of ICT infrastructure within the complex and lack of perimeter fencing-allowing incessant activities of miscreants within the area are some of the challenges faced at the complex.
Having identified the major problems, the execution and management of the project will be a lot easier as the project has been divided into six lots, that is Lots A, B, C, D, E, F so as to get the work done without much encumbrances.
Smith explained that the Committee has proposed, amongst others, the construction of additional 13nos 15 and 18 Classroom blocks with offices and toilets in some of the schools having shortage of classrooms, renovation of identified dilapidated classroom blocks, construction of perimeter fences and gate houses, construction of new inner roads and drainages, rehabilitation of existing access roads and the construction of health-care center.
For this reason, He assured that the committee will make efforts to construct a fire service station in the complex to mitigate against any fire outbreak; a multi-purpose sports complex; electrical works-solar powered floodlight and other needed infrastructure.
Also, an ICT hub, central laboratory and arts/creativity blocks under private sponsorship arrangement, will also be established while all of these will be maintained by the facility management office which, at the end, will make Tolu School Complex become an ‘Education City’.
Let it also be known that some other the benefits attached to the redevelopment of the school complex include bringing succor to the educational needs of the growing population of that area; catalyst for commerce as more businesses will start springing up and more importantly; help build capacity in the area of Science, Technology, Sports and Academics due to the state-of-the-arts structure that will begin to spring up.
