SOME school children from low-income families in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are missing classes, as rising transport fares make daily movement to school increasingly difficult for such families to afford.
Some parents and school children who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in an interview on Friday in Abuja, said the development had made regular school attendance increasingly difficult to sustain.
According to them, transportation expenses have increased significantly in recent times, forcing them to adopt various means to cope with the situation.
Solomon Enemona, a parent and also a tailor who lives in Dutse Alhaji, said previously, he spent N800 daily on transportation for his two children to get to their school in Kubwa, as against the N2,000 he currently spent to the same location,
Enemona noted that consequently, he had reduced the number of days his children attended school from five to three weekly, to enable him to meet other essential household demands.
“I have no choice but to take this measure because, if I don’t, I may not be able to feed the family, pay our rent and other utility bills.
“Desperate times, they say, call for desperate measures,” he added.
Danjuma Musa, another parent, on his part, said he was considering transferring his children from a private school in Wuse, to a government school closer to his residence in Mpape, following the rising cost in transporting them to school daily.
“Sometimes, they miss school because I am unable to pay for their transportation.
“I don’t like them missing school, so I might just move them to a government school close to us.
“I now spend three times what I used to pay for their transportation. I cannot cope anymore because, how much is my salary?” he queried.
Musa explained that he enrolled his children in a private school far from home because, he wanted them to receive quality education, but that prevailing economic realities might force him to reconsider the decision.
Andrew Innocent, another parent, said he sometimes had to decided which of his children’s transportation costs he would need to pay, whenever he had limited amount to accommodate all their fares.
He said he sometimes resorted to borrowing money, to ensure his children attended school regularly, as prolonged absenteeism could affect their academic performance.
In her contribution, Mrs Rachel Musa, Vice-Principal, Goke Akinwale International Academy, Dawaki, said rising transportation costs had increased absenteeism among pupils and negatively affected their academic performance.
She noted that transporting four children to school could cost as much as N4000 daily, making it difficult for some parents to sustain regular attendance.
The vice principal added that transportation costs also affected the teachers, some of whom spent about N2,000 daily, commuting to school.
“Even the teachers themselves too miss classes because of transportation.
“Imagine coming from Gwarimpa, all the way to Dawaki to teach.
“You know how much you pay to and fro. At least you pay nothing less than N2, 000 every day,” she added.
She said pupils who frequently missed classes, struggled to keep up academically with their peers.
According to her, the school sometimes organises make-up tests for absentee pupils and allow them to copy notes from classmates, to help them catch up with missed lessons.
She said the school had withdrawn some of its buses because of rising operational costs and parents’ complaints about transportation charges.
She added that poor road conditions had also made vehicle maintenance difficult, urging the government to rehabilitate roads and address rising fuel prices to ease the transportation burden.
Similarly, Mr Oneyi Edwin, Principal, Smartmind Success Academy, Jikwoyi, said the school had discontinued its bus services for pupils living far away, as a result of the operational cost.
He explained that the service had become unsustainable.
Edwin said some pupils living as far away as Kurudu had previously relied on the school bus to get to school.
According to him, the school eventually lost some of the affected pupils after discontinuing the service, as their parents can no longer sustain the cost of getting them to school.
Similarly, Samson Daruwana, a Senior Secondary School (SSS) student, explained that he had missed school twice in the past two weeks, as a result of transportation issues.
Daruwana noted that he missed a test on one of the occasions after arriving late, following a long walk to school, as he was unable to afford the fare.
Another student, Jonah Jock, said he felt bad about missing classes, while his classmates attended school.
Jock said the situation was also affecting his academic performance.
Tony Nwachukwu, a Junior Secondary School (JSS) student who lives in Giri, but attends school in Gwagwalada, said he now attended classes four times a week because of the high cost of transportation.
According to Nwachukwu, he trekked to school even on the days he attended classes because he could no longer afford the fare.
“It used to be N200 from Giri to Gwagwalada, but now, they collect N500, so I just trek Mondays to Thursdays and start my weekends on Fridays, so I can rest properly,” he stated.
Other parents, students and school administrators, called on the government to address rising transportation costs and improve road infrastructure.
They warned that the situation could further undermine regular school attendance and pupils’ academic performance.
NAN reports that there has been a sharp rise in transportation costs in recent months, with transport operators attributing the development to persistent fuel price increases. (NAN)
