Despite ₦193bn education budget, Katsina school lies in ruins

More than 1,000 students of Government Day Secondary School (GDSS) Maidabino in Dan Musa Local Government Area of Katsina State are reportedly receiving lessons under deplorable conditions despite the state government allocating over ₦193 billion to the education sector in the 2025 and 2026 budgets.

The grim situation was highlighted by security analyst and counter-insurgency expert Zagazola Makama, who shared details of a visit to the school on his X handle and in a report, describing the institution as a stark example of the gap between government budgetary allocations and realities in rural communities.

According to Makama, students at GDSS Maidabino sit on stones, broken blocks and bare ground because there are no desks or chairs, while most of the school’s classroom blocks have either collapsed or lost their roofs.

He reported that when it rains, teaching stops completely because there are no functional classrooms to shelter students and teachers.

The report noted that the Katsina State Government earmarked ₦95.9 billion for education in its 2025 budget and increased the allocation to ₦97.5 billion in 2026, bringing total education spending to about ₦193.4 billion over the two years.

Despite those allocations, Makama said GDSS Maidabino remains without basic infrastructure expected in a public secondary school.

According to the report, only four classroom blocks are still standing, but they have no roofs, windows, doors or ceilings.

The school also lacks desks, chairs, laboratories, a library, electricity, clean water, toilets and other essential learning facilities.

Makama further revealed that the school, which caters to students from Junior Secondary School One to Senior Secondary School Three, is being run by only one volunteer teacher, Malam Ibrahim Salisu Maidabino, a farmer who is not employed by the Katsina State Government.

The volunteer teacher was quoted as saying he continues to teach because he could not watch children in his community grow up without access to education.

“I am only doing this because these children deserve a future. If I stay on my farm every day, who will teach them?” he said.

Makama said the teacher handles lessons across multiple subjects and classes, an arrangement he described as impossible for one person given the school’s enrolment.

The report also highlighted the role of the Nigerian Army, noting that GDSS Maidabino previously served as the headquarters of a Forward Operating Base established to protect the community from bandit attacks.

According to Makama, soldiers stationed in the area have occasionally assisted with maintaining order and encouraging students because of the severe shortage of teachers.

He argued that while the military has helped secure the community, it cannot replace the government’s responsibility to provide quality education.

Makama questioned how a government-owned secondary school could remain in such poor condition despite successive education budgets worth nearly ₦200 billion, calling for urgent intervention to rehabilitate GDSS Maidabino, recruit qualified teachers and provide basic learning facilities.

He said the condition of the school raises broader concerns about the implementation and impact of public education spending, warning that children in rural communities continue to bear the consequences of neglect despite repeated government commitments to improving education.