- Students at Mae Davis Public Elementary School are sharing chairs, sitting on bare floors, and standing through lessons in a deteriorating building that community members and school officials say has been left without intervention for years.

The school, serving 176 enrolled pupils this academic year, faces a critical shortage of seating and a structurally compromised building that officials warn could become unsafe when the rainy season begins.

Vice Principal Seh Konah said two students are routinely forced to share a single chair while others sit on the floor or stand for entire lessons. He described the situation as long-standing and worsening despite repeated appeals to authorities.

"This is not the kind of environment any child should learn in," Konah said, adding that both teachers and students have had to cope with the conditions daily without meaningful outside support.

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The approach of the rainy season has sharpened concerns. Cracks, leaks, and deteriorating roofing threaten to render classrooms unusable, raising the possibility of disruptions to the school calendar if the building's condition deteriorates further.

Community members say the time for awareness has passed. "This is beyond discussion -- it requires immediate action," one community leader said, calling on local authorities and the national government to intervene.

Among the needs identified by school officials are additional desks and chairs, structural rehabilitation of the building, and temporary classroom arrangements to keep students learning safely.