IBADAN- Oyo State Governor, Engr Seyi Makinde says he has approved the recruitment of more teachers into the State’s teaching service, noting that his government is re-engineering the education sector for “long-lasting positive results.”
The Gov according to a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary, Taiwo Adisa stated this while speaking at the commissioning of a N50 million multipurpose hall donated to the Ilora Baptist Grammar School, Ilora, by an old student, Mr. Remi Oyekola.
The Governor also said that the state government has not scrapped the School Governing Boards(SGBs) which manages the secondary schools adding that he has approved running grants to schools and the funds must be lodged in the existing SGB Account of each school.
“The operational guidelines for the School Governing Boards, including the already established financial template and procedures must be strictly adhered to,” the Governor said, adding that any school without an existing School Governing Board should report to the Director of Schools, Ministry of Education not later noon of Friday, October 25, 2019.
He said Government has put in place a policy of free education and no principal should compel any student to pay any illegal fee, even the Parent-Teachers Association (PTA) is voluntary.
He also warned those who were hell-bent on sabotaging his Government’s education policies by destroying school properties through arson and burglary and those extorting students to desist from such path or face the full wrath of the law.
He maintained that no matter the number of threats and blackmail by opponents of his free education policy would deter his government from providing free and qualitative education.
He said: “Any parent that wants to contribute to the school where his/her ward is attending can do so, it’s fine. But what we met on ground was huge fraud. There was no accountability. Even, as early as the day before yesterday, they said some people were still requesting payment of N2,000 for the running grants we want to give to schools.
“Actually, I may not be right all the time but I will still investigate. But I am 100 percent sure that I am right and I said to them that if they collect the money, I will jail the people in charge. The situation we are with the education of our children in Oyo State can be likened to a popular saying that goes thus: ‘a child that says his mother will not sleep, will equally not be allowed to rest’. We won’t allow anybody to sabotage our education policy.”
Governor Makinde commended the donor of the building, Mr. Oyekola, who in his speech had said that he embarked on the project to give back to the society and to honor his mother who toiled for his education.
The Governor announced that he had given approval for the recruitment of teachers in order to address the challenge of shortage of teachers, especially following the influx of students to public schools in the state.
