SAVE OSUN EDUCATION FROM TOTAL COLLAPSE

Several things have been happening in the State of Osun and I have decided to share my opinion with just a few friends of mine within the ruling party in the state and some other concerned stakeholders as to the way things are being handled by the state government. But I just could not bear it any longer, the recent developments in the educational sector of the state.
The students in the state owned schools have just gone on the 2nd term vacation without writing the term’s examination just as they did in the previous term. This appalling situation may not unconnected to the state government’s inability to provide the education subvention.
When this incident happened the previous term, it triggered reactions from various quarters with some pro government people giving several excuses why it happened and assuring that it would not happen again. However, to the utter dismay of everyone, it has happened again and I may not be wrong to say that our dear governor will be evasive with this again.
Let us go down memory lane. Before our amiable governor came into office, he promised us heaven on earth and came with a policy document of six points integral action plan to transform the state, most especially the educational sector. Shortly after, he assumed office through the judgement of Justice Binta Clara Ogunbiyi, verdict on the suit against the erstwhile governor of the state, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola who used to be his (Aregbesola’s) arch enemy but now political associate courtesy the popular saying: ‘there are no permanent friends or enemies in politics, only permanent interests.’
We all remember vividly that all was well with our educational sector until recently. Then, school enrolment increased due to the school feeding programme initiated by the state for pupils in primary school, the government paid workers as and when due, the state created its own university which was built as a multi campus, our ranking in WAEC and NECO examinations experienced an upward movement, but sadly all these have become history since Mr. Aregbesola assumed office and first came with the education summit which was chaired by the renowned author and first Africa Nobel Prize Winner for literature, Professor Wole Soyinka. There was a ray of hope that we would do better with our education leveraging on the success on ground and the outcome of the summit which involved all the stakeholders in the educational sector of the state, but lo, it was all policy and no implementation.
I will talk about each policy the government brought into the educational sector of the state and the effects on the people.
1). Introduction of common uniforms for all primary and secondary students in the state
The state government introduced same uniforms for all students in the state owned pre-tertiary schools. Students in primary schools appear in a particular uniform, students in junior secondary schools had theirs, likewise their counterparts in the senior secondary schools. The state government might have had good intentions with the introduction of the uniforms, but it was not welcomed by the people owing to so many reasons. Initially, the government made a propaganda with it and promised to make it free for all students. The first set was free. Subsequently, the government introduced a fee for the uniforms which came as a rude shock. The uniforms which were produced by a garment industry which partnered with the state initially named Sam and Sara, later changed name to Omoluabi Garment Factory after some rumours purported the wife of the state governor had substantial shares with the company.
2). Restructuring of school buildings
The state government in its wisdom decided to build new mega structures and provide state of the art facilities in a bid to give a more befitting outlook to the educational sector of the state. Where the government got it wrong was the demolition of some good structures built by the Oyinlola administration. The government demolished most of the structures with the promise to build mega structures that could accommodate 600 pupils in elementary school, 900 students in middle school and 1200 students in senior school. What everyone expected was that Aregbesola will do it in phases by carrying out a pilot test. But sadly he went all out against the wish of the people and demolished the buildings without considering the comfort and counsel of the citizens of the state. Currently, we have less than 10 completed and commissioned mega schools in Osun which is a total departure from the promised number.
Fakunle Comprehensive High School in Osogbo which used to be the first private school in the state was the first school to witness the weight of a bulldozer moving against it. The students of this school were merged with another school and this has continuously caused skirmishes between the students. Many teachers and students who experienced these fisticuffs can tell the tales of the damaging effects.
3). ‘Opon Imo’ (Tablet of Knowledge)
 The state government introduced a learning tablet popularly called ‘Opon Imo’ in local parlance. The idea of the tablet was to introduce the students to information technology at a very tender age and remove the notion that it is only the children of the affluent that can have access to technology. It was a novel idea, well celebrated and hyped by the state government. It was believed the state government spent close to 250 million Naira to publicise the idea. On the day of the launch of the learning tablets, over 5 media stations were paid to broadcast the event live. This would not have been much of an issue if the tablets really achieved their purpose.
The state government said it was going to provide 150,000 copies of the Tablets of Knowledge: 120,000 for the students in senior classes and 30,000 for the teachers. But the reality is that we have less than 50,000 copies of the tablets in circulation. The tablets were mainly rationed among the students.
The few students who even got one complained about the poor functionality of the devices which affected the learning process the tablets were meant for. The state government has failed to state in clear terms how much was spent on the tablets. The only fact that we were told was that it would save the state 8billion Naira, an amount which the state was to be spending on textbooks for the students annually. The tablets were recalled from the students few weeks to their WAEC examination. The question is: how did the government expect the students to prepare adequately for the examination?
The state government has failed to pay workers for 5 months without any justifiable reason. Public school students have not been writing terminal exams; no grants released to schools, yet our governor in his usual style is busy dancing ‘skelewu’ and ‘fuji’ round town and on the campaign train of Mr. Buhari, the Presidential candidate of APC, and finds it difficult to come out to address all these issues affecting this critical sector in the state.
My question is: for how long will Aregbesola and the deputy governor, Grace Titilaoye who doubles as the Commissioner for Education in the state toy with the lives of students in government schools in Osun?
I challenge the APC populated state House of Assembly to call the deputy governor who is in charge of the Ministry of Education in the state, the labour leaders, NUT and other stakeholders in the educational sector to order. Enough is enough of all this negligence and backwardness in our educational sector. We deserve better and demand answers from the man in charge of the affairs of the state in person of Mr. Aregbesola, to please give us explanation as to what is happening in the state.

Adedamola Adejobi
Student and Youth Ambassador for European Access Network