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By Stephen Okeke

Nearly 300 students of Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Janbulo, in Kano State escaped unharmed on Thursday after the staircase leading to their upstairs classrooms suddenly collapsed during school hours, trapping them inside the building.

The incident happened at about 1:00 p.m. while lessons were ongoing in two upstairs classrooms at the school in Gwale Local Government Area, triggering panic among students and teachers.

Speaking after the incident, the school principal, Hajiya Jamila Mustafa Mai Nasara, said staff members rushed to the scene after hearing desperate cries for help from the affected block.

According to her, teachers acted swiftly by bringing in a ladder, which was used to safely evacuate all the trapped students.

"We heard shouting from the one-storey building where about 300 students were taking lessons. When we got there, we discovered that the staircase had collapsed. Thankfully, every student was rescued safely, and no one was injured," she said.

The principal said the school immediately alerted the Kano State Secondary Schools Management Board by telephone before submitting a detailed report on the incident and the condition of the damaged building.

She described the collapse as a serious setback, explaining that the affected classrooms accommodate a large number of science students in a school already struggling with inadequate learning facilities.

According to Mai Nasara, the school has only eight classrooms and one laboratory, with more than 120 students occupying each classroom because of limited space. With the damaged block now out of use, only four classrooms remain available for teaching, worsening overcrowding.

She also disclosed that the affected building, constructed about 16 years ago, had shown signs of deterioration for years. Although its leaking roof was recently repaired after years of damage, she said the entire structure now requires urgent renovation.

The principal appealed to the Kano State Government to rebuild the collapsed staircase before schools reopen in September, warning that the shortage of classrooms could force some students to remain at home if repairs are not completed in time.

The incident has renewed concerns about the safety of ageing infrastructure in public schools across Kano State. As of the time of filing this report, the Kano State Ministry of Education had not issued an official statement on the collapse.