Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state on Wednesday warned those he described as ‘saboteurs’ in the state education sector to desist, warning that his administration will not take it lightly with anyone caught flouting the government directive and policies in the sector.
This is as he also revealed that the management of the N3,000 collected from students in public schools across the state before he took over the governance was riddled in fraud.
Makinde made the disclosures while speaking at the commissioning of a N50million worth school hall donated to Ilora Baptist Grammar School, Ilora by an Old student, Mr Remi Oyekola.
The event was witnessed by top government functionaries, members of school management, old students, staff, traditional rulers, community leaders, religious leaders, parents and students of the state.
While lamenting that many people have been hiding under the guise of his administration’s scrapping of the N3,000 being collected from the students to perpetrate various atrocities, Governor Makinde said he is aware that politicians prefer patching things up but that we would rather continue the reengineering process he began on May 29, 2019, until the entire educational system of the state of completely transformed.
He also hinted that his decision to employ more teachers in the state is to put an end to recurring teacher problems in Oyo state public schools, a problem which predates his administration.
He commended the donor of the building, Mr Oyetola as well as the Old students association for the various ways they have contributed to the development of the 56years old school, adding that although his administration will allow parents and willing individuals to contribute to improving the educational sector, he will not allow anyone mandate or charge any money from the students on account of supporting the school.
He further faulted the manner with which the School Governing Board (SGB) as introduced by the immediate past administration was being run, noting that the process does not allow for accountability of funds generated or a means of auditing of the monies collected for and on behalf of the schools by the administrators.
Makinde said “I am proud of Mr Remi Oyekola for giving back to his alma mata and also the Old Student Association for all the blocks of classrooms you have renovated and all the good works you are doing, it is validating the point that government alone cannot do it, we have to work together because quite frankly these children are our future. So whatever we invest in them today, that is what we will reap tomorrow.
“For the Parents Teachers Association (PTA), myself and the PTAs are currently fighting because they said the PTA teachers engaged can’t be paid anymore because we told the students not to pay the stipulated N3,000 again. The question is, was the N3,000 PTA fees in the first place? Was it not that the PTA as an association came together on their own volition as parents and teachers to look after the welfare of the school and the students?
“What we are saying is that, anybody who has the capacity and wants to help their kids’ school as parents should do it, but teachers must not go into the classroom to compel students to pay PTA levy. It is voluntary, parents who want to contribute is fin.
“For the PTAs or the N3,000 per students been paid, what we met on ground when we came to the government was that the whole thing was a huge fraud.
“So, anyone who may be nursing the ambition of frustrating our programmes and the things we have for education in Oyo state, we are in the same battle.
“We all know that education in Oyo State has experienced many systemic failures. As an administration, we are focused on dealing with these failures by re-engineering processes. The major problem, however, is that, when you want to re-engineer, the processes take a bit longer than patching it up. We will keep improving on our facilities and the teachers’ salary will still be paid on the 25th of every month.
“All the counterpart fundings that we should pay to UBEC, we are paying it so that we can access the money to continue to fix our infrastructures. I know the naysayers are already thinking of how we are going to do it, they said the same thing before the election but with the support of the people of the state, Seyi Makinde became the governor. Also, with your support, we will take education in Oyo state to greater heights
“Yes, I am aware of the issue of shortage of teachers, this has been happening even before the PTAs waded in to engage PTAs teachers for the schools. There is indeed a shortage of teachers, but if people now go about claiming that it was because we scrapped the collection of N3,000, can we believe that?
“Well, as I stand before you, I already give the approval to recruit teachers in the state. So I can give you the assurance that we are on top of the issue and very soon, you will see results because we are determined to put an end to recurring teacher problems in Oyo state public schools and I pray that God in his infinite mercies will help us.”
Speaking earlier, the donor, Mr Oyekola said he decided to erect the structure for the student to bring back the fond memories of an assembly that brings the entire students together under a roof as well as honour his mother whom he said struggled and engaged in various odd trades for him to be able to pay his school fees at the time.