Months after the conduct of Governorship election in Osun State, Minister of Interior and former governor of the State Ogbeni Raufu Aregbesola has renewed fight with his successor in office, governor Gboyega Oyetola over an alleged falling standard of education.
Governor Oyetola had alleged that the Minister had made some uncomplimentary remarks about the current administration in Osun accusing it of destroying the good legacies he(Aregbesola) bequeathed to it
The governor alleged that Aregbesola, while receiving an award in his office, in Abuja on Thursday 22nd of September, 2022 said Oyetola had destroyed education in Osun State
Responding to the Minister attack through the Folorunso Oladoyin Bamisayemi ,the Commissioner for Education, Osun State,Oyetola said his administration inherited an education system where principals, head teachers and teachers generally were heavily demoralized as a result of half salary payment by the then Aregbesola administration.
“While we recognize the right of Mr Aregbesola to praise himself to high heavens, we will like to set the records straight without attacking anybody.
” We have effectively eliminated indiscipline, school cultism, invasion and distruption of academic activities by roughnecks and other vices by simply reversing the single uniform policy of the last administration. Now we easily identify and punish any errant student in any of our schools. Teachers and students no longer panic when they are going to school as the learning environment is now safe and peaceful. The statistics are there for all to see. No school has been attacked or invaded by hoodlums posing as students since we ended the single uniform policy of Mr Aregbesola.
“The current administration has not destroyed education as alleged by him. Rather, this administration has been working hard to improve the standard and quality of public education and take it out of the deep hole where it was when this administration came on board.” the statement said
” We took over an education system where students lost interest in schooling as a result of incessant attacks and distruption of school activities by cultists, hoodlums and roughnecks posing as students undetected because of the single uniform policy of the previous administration.
“We were appointed to rescue a system where public schools performance in external examinations was below 20% if contributions of private schools are subtracted from the combined results released by WAEC from 2014 to 2018 after the former administration has been in charge for over 5 years and has committed over 25 billion naira.The combined matriculable percentage pass for those years are in the public space for all to see.”
“As part of our psychosocial achievements, we have eliminated controversies and discontents among stakeholders that were occasioned by the introduction of a strange 4-5-3-4 system of education by the former governor. We have since gone back to 6-3-3-4 system and aligned with the other states of the federation, thus ending the resistance/agitation of teachers and other stakeholders.
“We shall continue to rebuild Osun education and ensure that we are not distracted by a self glorification that is far from the reality of what this administration inherited.
“We have stabilized the system and we are confident that objective practitioners in the system appreciate our modest but sustainable contribution that has not mortgaged the future of generations yet unborn and has not put them in humongous debt.