Female students of Government Girls’ Secondary School, Tafawa Balewa, Bauchi State, are battling floodwater in their hostel. The flood was caused by a windstorm which blew off the roof of the hostel during a heavy downpour.
Images and a video obtained by DAILY POST showed the hostel completely taken over by floodwater, with no visible roofing sheets. Rows of metal bunk beds were also seen inside the waterlogged building, while students were captured standing barefoot in the flooded hostel.
The video further showed some of the students using buckets and other containers to scoop water from the hostel in a desperate effort to drain the flooded dormitory and make it habitable, as others looked on.
The development has also renewed concerns over the state of infrastructure in public boarding schools and the need for greater investment in educational facilities across the state.
Reacting to the development, the Bauchi State Government said it has begun assessing schools affected by the recent rainstorm across the state.
The Commissioner for Education, Hon. Abdulkadir Ibrahim, said officials had identified challenges affecting the effective use of educational facilities in the affected schools, including Government Girls’ Secondary School, Tafawa Balewa.
According to the commissioner, four hostels at the school were severely damaged by the windstorm, forcing the ministry to temporarily relocate students pending government intervention.
He added that assessment teams had been deployed to all affected schools to determine the extent of the damage, noting that a comprehensive report would be submitted to Governor Bala Mohammed to facilitate prompt intervention and ensure the speedy restoration of teaching and learning in the affected schools.