•Students trouping out after school hours Photo: Sun News Publishing

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The sight of students trooping in and out of Tolu Schools Complex in Ajeromi Ifelodun Local Government Area of Lagos State, would give you a picture of the Israelite exodus from Egypt to the promised land. The sprawling complex, which houses about 37 schools, is said to be the brainchild of one-time executive governor of Lagos State, Alhaji Lateef Jakande.
It sits on a large expanse of land which stretches from Alakoto to Tolu and Temidire axis.

Everyday, thousands of students throng the complex to acquire education. Some come from Ajegunle, some from Apapa. Others come from Orile, Mile 2 and Ijora. The complex is a meeting point in another way.

The schools are carefully demarcated one from another via the aid of brick fences, some of which have given way to sticks and wood through which students sneak in and out of the schools at will. Among several others are Newland Secondary School, Ojoku High School, Oluwa Memorial High School, Ojora High School and Tincan Island Senior High School.
Amazingly, a number of primary schools are also cited within the complex. Among these are Seabreeze Primary School, Tolu Primary School, Mokoya Primary School and Oremeji Nursery and Primary School. These primary schools do not have their own buildings.

In the course of this investigation, Daily Sun stumbled on a man, Mr. Alloysius Uchehara who claims to be a pioneer student of one of the schools in the complex. He had this to say. "I was among the first set of students when the complex was established in 1982. Then, we were transferred from the Mile2 complex. At that time, we had only Olodi Apapa Secondary School, Tolu High School, Temidire Secondary School and Adeolu Secondary School. With time, the number skyrocketed to 25. I believe it must have been through the efforts of succeeding administrations".

It was further disclosed that the 37 schools, six of which, are primary schools compete for space on that singular location due to the absence of land in other surrounding areas in that locality. As the Japanese would say, ‘Good thinking, good product’ or is it the case of necessity being the mother of invention? On the contrary, what is the maintenance culture for this mother of all necessities?

Insufficient classrooms, lack of good access roads, lack of toilets facilities. Play halls known as laboratories and libraries as well as lack of recreational facilities are some of the problems confronting public schools in the state, the complex also has its fair share. A cursory look at the ongoing Lagos State schools rehabilitation project and you would discover there are questions desperately begging for answers. Some of these include: first, what use is it constructing just a block of one or two storey building leaving out toilets, libraries and science laboratories, are these not part of school facilities meant for the benefit of students? So, why not total restructuring and rehabilitation?

Some students in some of the schools in the complex interviewed spoke on some of these problems and how they affect their academic activities. Mariam David has this to say. "We lack adequate classrooms. For this reason, we are about 90 - 100 students in a class. The problem with this is that the teachers find it too stressful handling a class and the teacher-student relationship is lacking. Most classroom have no chairs, so we sit on bare floor".

"Again, it makes the task of marking our scripts very difficult. Most teachers do not have the patience to read through the scripts in order to award the right score to a student because they often complain. This is one of the reasons public school students are seen as dullards, No, we are not!", she lamented.
Monday Jeremiah, another student said:. "We have good teachers and most of them are good in their respective subjects.

The problem is that many of them make the school an extension of their business outfits. Sometimes, they are too busy selling and talking that even when the class prefect goes to call them to teach, they may not come. At the moment, many of the teachers no longer come to teach those of us in SS3 who are preparing for the SSCE exams. And the exams are still far way but they say because we are in SS3, they do not have our time anymore. This is why you see us roam about".

Vitals Chime gives an insight into what social life looks like at the complex. "Here, you find some students who have at least one or two friends in almost all the schools. Having too many friends is not good for anyone who wants to excel. One other problem is that fights often break out, sometimes out of trivial matters. On such occasions, it is always a terrible sight to behold".

On their part, three guardsmen in three of the schools visited, appealed to the state government to increase the number of staff handling the security needs of the schools within the complex. As one of them puts it, "One guard keeping watch from the hour of 7am to 7pm in a school with outrageous number of students as we have here is hardly insufficient. It does not give us room to even answer the call of nature. And when thieves come at night armed to the teeth, the best a helpless guard can do is take to his heels".

There is, however, something to cheer about as the story is not all about tales of woes. It is heartwarming to discover that the ever-popular Millennium Building is situated within the complex. It is a magnificent building housing Ojora Memorial Secondary School and Bola Ige Senior Secondary School. Also within the premises is located, Oremeji School 11. Unlike their counterparts in other schools within the complex, for students at the Millennium building learning is as pleasurable as it can be. The classrooms are furnished with suitable chairs and lockers, fans and power supply.

There are also stand-by generating sets, two of which, including computers, were said to have been carted away by robbers some weeks back. The science and computer laboratories are well equipped with science equipment and software appliances respectively. Interestingly too, a police post is located within the complex to maintain law and order.

It was also discovered that academic needs of members of that community within and outside Tolu Complex is not neglected as the complex boasts a public library provided by the Lagos State Library Board.

Though the Chief librarian was not available when Daily Sun visited, a member of staff who pleaded anonymity, said: "The idea of this library is to serve all students and teachers and the public as a whole. Though some of the books may not be as new as expected, many of them are still current in most syllabuses. We have enough books to cater for every student’s needs. We have both children and adult sections. The problem with the students is that most of them do not know the usefulness of the library and they are not prepared to read".

But for a teacher, who also did not want his name in print, others were not willing to give comments. For him, "structures do not really matter, what matters is what comes out of a place. Our students equally excel in external exams". At the local Government Education Authority, a junior who spoke to Daily Sun on behalf of his boss, pointed out that the Lagos State Schools Rehabilitation Agency is a more suitable authority to comment on the matter.