- Stakeholders say governor constructing roads at detriment of education
Thousands of pupils and students of public primary and secondary schools in Osun State have continued to risk their lives by learning under dilapidated classrooms two years into the administration of Governor Ademola Adeleke.
Adeleke’s government had organised an Education Summit to overhaul the education sector and tackle its rots about a year ago.
However, the recommendations from the summit are yet to be implemented by the governor.
This has continued to pose threat to the lives of the young learners in the state, as they continue to learn under fallen roofs and dilapidated buildings which are prone to attack.
Recall that the summit was held between Tuesday, August 22, and Thursday, August 24, 2023 while the report of the conference headed by Professor Oyesoji Aremu was submitted to Governor Adeleke in October 2023.
The summit, according to the state Commissioner for Education, Dipo Eluwole was initiated towards repositioning the education sector in a manner that will make it reliable and sustainable.
Findings revealed that many schools in the state are still in deplorable states while there are not enough teachers in some, especially in rural areas.
Dilapidated buildings, lack of instructional materials and teachers, among others are vivid pictures that the public schools parade.
In Community High School, Ila Odo town, Odo-otin Local Government Area of the state, hundreds of students are presently learning under fallen roofs amid infrastructural deficit.
The school is seen in a dilapidated state as the classrooms are without roofs that shield the pupils from sun and rain during their study time.
A community source said, “The students and teachers are suffering in silence because whenever it rains, the entire classes get flooded.”
According to the 68-page “Report of Osun Education Summit 2023,” prepared by the state government in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, about 50 per cent of the public secondary schools in Osun State do not have night security guards, thereby, making them vulnerable to attacks by hoodlums.
The report further revealed that while special schools were facing infrastructural challenges, most of the buildings in the schools were old, dilapidated and without perimeter fencing.
Also, there had been a shortage of qualified teachers in secondary schools in Osun State, a development which affected the accreditation of schools for the West Africa Senior Secondary Certificate Examination and National Examination Council, as urban schools were found to be over-concentrated with teachers at the expense of rural schools.
The report said, “Also, about 50 per cent of the public secondary schools in Osun State do not have night security guards. This needs to be looked into to guarantee the safety of school properties.
The government and other stakeholders like the PTA and alumni bodies of various secondary schools in Osun State are enjoined to make necessary arrangements to employ night guards to secure public secondary schools in the state where there is none.
“There are insufficient learning centers for persons with special needs (only one) secondary school for persons with special needs in the state). There are insufficient teachers in special schools. Parents always dump their children in the schools without visiting them or coming to pick them during mid-term breaks.”
Commenting on the delay in the implementation of the education summit report, a retired principal in the state, Layi Lawuyi expressed displeasure that the report is yet to see the light of the day.
Lawuyi, however, berated Adeleke, saying he is giving more attention to road construction than education in the state.
He said, “Two years after the education summit in Osun, nothing has come out of the exercise. There are still reports that there are no teachers in Osun schools. They will also tell you out of 400 schools they are repairing eight. Even when the white paper came out, they said Opon Imo will be resuscitated. That is a brilliant idea at this age which should be done quickly at this digital age.
“My pity for the current governor is that it is his late brother, Senator Isiaka Adeleke that had better education during his time. I wonder what history will write about this current governor.
“On infrastructure, I will score him 95 per cent because he still has two years to go. But it is at the detriment of the students, schools and education. As you said, execution of the education summit report will take time, but it does not take time before the governor could award construction of the roads.
“That is the mistake Adeleke is making. If he can make quick decisions on roads, it is not an education policy he should be delayed.”
Efforts to get reaction from the state Commissioner for Education, Eluwole Adedipo were not successful as at press time.
