The Model Boarding Secondary School, Balle in Gudu Local Government Area (LGA) of Sokoto State, has remained shut for nine years after its completion.

The school was constructed in 2017 by the administration of former governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal as part of efforts to address the educational challenges facing border communities in the LGA.

Gudu was widely regarded as one of the LGAs in Sokoto with little or no access to functional secondary education.

For years, many families in Balle and other communities in the LGA struggled to enrol their children in secondary schools, with some students forced to travel to distant towns while others abandoned education completely.

Daily Trust gathered that the boarding school, reportedly built at the cost of about N1 billion, was completed with classrooms, hostels, a clinic, mosque, access roads and other facilities.

Tambuwal had also stated during the 2016 Democracy Day celebration that the school would improve enrolment, retention and transition of pupils from primary to secondary education in Gudu and neighbouring local government areas.

“The fact is that despite concerted efforts by successive governments, the level of educational development in Gudu has consistently remained the lowest in the state,” the former governor had said at the time.

The school was also designed to accommodate students from neighbouring communities in both Nigeria and the Niger Republic, with English and French planned as languages of instruction.

But nine years after the completion of the school, academic activities have yet to commence, and no student has been admitted.

Security personnel currently occupy the facility following insecurity challenges in the area.

Residents who spoke to Daily Trust, however, dismissed claims circulating on social media that the community wanted the school to be converted permanently into a military base.

They said the continued closure of the school remains difficult to understand, especially in an educationally disadvantaged local government area.

A resident, Mallam Umar Balle, said the people appreciated the role of security operatives in the area but insisted that the school should be returned to its original purpose.

“We are not against the soldiers because security is important to us. But this school was built for our children, and we still need it.

“Government should provide another suitable place for the security personnel and allow the school to begin operations,” he said.

According to him, the design and structure of the school could also make it suitable for use as a higher institution if the government were unable to reopen it as a secondary school.

“We want the state government to either restore the school to its original purpose or convert it into a faculty of FCE (Federal College of Education), Gidan Madi or any other higher institution so that the facility will not continue to remain unused,” he said.

He said, although schools such as GDSS Balle, GDSS Kurdula and GDSS Bacaka were recently upgraded to issue SSCE qualifications, residents still considered the Model Boarding Secondary School, Balle, a major educational project needed in the area.

President of the Gudu Students Association (GULSA), Ahmad Usman Jimajimi, said many students from the local government previously attended schools in places such as Gidan Madi, Nagarta College, Sheikh Abubakar Gummi and FGC Sokoto because of the absence of nearby secondary schools.

“Some parents simply could not afford to send their children outside the area, and many students abandoned education completely,” he said.

He added that reopening the school would help improve education and also contribute to addressing insecurity through youth development.

“No matter how the government wants to solve insecurity, education must be part of the solution,” he said.

The Chairman of the School-Based Management Committee in Gudu LGA, Attahiru Balle, appealed to the government not to allow the structures to deteriorate.

“This school was built to change the story of education in this area. We are appealing to the government to open it for the benefit of our children,” he said.

Similarly, the community’s traditional head, Aminu Aliyu (Sarkin Yamman Balle), said the school was established to serve border communities before insecurity disrupted the original plan.

“The school is still in good condition. What we want is for the government to provide another base for the security personnel and allow students to start learning here,” he said.

When contacted, the Sokoto State Commissioner for Information, Bello Sambo Danchadi, said the government remained committed to acting in the interest of the people.

“The state government is for the people, and it will do whatever is in the interest of the people. As soon as the security situation improves, the school will continue to function as scheduled,” he said.

He added that students in the area were currently attending other institutions with adequate facilities. (Daily Trust)