Ismail Amanatullah
Among the school-owned female hostels are Zamfara and Kwankwasiya (Kano Hall). These are also the only female hostels that are storey buildings with railings. Many of these iron railings have become weak and frail from rust – continuous wetting and drying. It poses more danger to occupants of the first floor, either while climbing the stairs or using the balconies.
Kwankwasiya, compared to Zamfara Hall, has few rusts and fallen chips of iron here and there. In Zamfara Hall, many of the railings have become so weak they are either fallen or likely to fall soonest. All twenty eight railings on the ground floor balconies are rusted with their horizontal tops hanging on almost nothing. One of them has completely fallen to the ground. The first floor has six manageable rails and seventeen bad ones.
Aisha, a 200l Education Chemistry student who stays in C Block of Zamfara Hostel told News Digest in an interview: ” I get very scared to go close to the rails and living close to the fallen off railing makes it worse because the danger is too high. I believe it should be changed as fast as possible to avoid a student falling down. The earlier the better because the safety of students is at risk”.
“With the way this rail is, I can’t rest on it because of fear for my life because of the weak rail which shakes when you rest on it. I was on a phone call one day and absent mindedly rested on the rail. The next thing I heard was a sister’s yell, who cautioned me out of fear that why am I resting on a rail which could easily give way. I associate the rust to the amount of water coming in contact with the rail due to the drainage system that isn’t deep enough to hold large water content. I’m a UG1 student but with the state of this rail and me being upstairs too, this would be the first and last time I would live here”. Motunrayo, a 100 level Education Biology student told News Digest correspondent, expressing grief.
In an interview with the hall governor of Block D, Animashaun Aisha, she said: ” I’m aware of the danger associated with the state of the rails and we’ve reported it to the Deputy Dean student affairs, Mr Tukur Mukhtar, who gave his word that before the commencement of next session, the rails would be changed and dilapidated rooms would be renovated. We brought to his notice that students who would stay back after the session are usually lodged at Zamfara hostel and it would be unsafe for them. We pleaded that they should be lodged at some other hostel to ensure their safety”.
Kwankwasiya Hostel on the other hand, has tiled rooms and stairs. Some of these tiles, especially the staircases’ are broken with sharp edges. Usually, students fall on these tiles. Now that the support to climb without falling gets weaker by the day, it also poses a great risk to its residents.
While the school management plans to work on this, residents should stay safe.