Forty-two years after late Bola Ige, as governor of the then Oyo State established Ikonifin Community Grammar School, the school, now in Osun State, suffers serious dilapidation, creating serious question of standard. Temitope Olaonipekun reports.
IKONIFIN Community Grammar School was established in 1980 by the late governor of Oyo State, Chief Bola Ige in his quest to bring western educational closer to the people.
Ikonifin is a small town in Ola Oluwa Local Government Area of now in Osun State near Iwo and Bode Osi.
Aside Ikonifin, other communities that were to benefit from the new school, included Ile-Ogbo, Sade, Obamero, Aba Gogoru, Isero, Ife Odan, Afiku and other neighbouring communities.
Forty-two years on, the once glorious school that has produced notable people in the society has degenerated so much that not one building is without a missing roof, window, door or any other items.
Since Ikonifin indigenes are predominantly farmers and could not command resources to send their children to private schools, they simply rely on the community school, where some of them also attended as children.
A former principal in the school, Adeoba Olaleye, who said he has followed the decadence of the school with dismay, informed that though the school could still boast of over 300 students, they hardly could boast of quality or standard of education.
“There are about 14 teachers in the school presently taking over 300 students and the students are without Mathematics and science subject teachers.
“The major problem is that the classrooms and environment of study are not conducive. There are no good chairs and tables and students cram themselves in the few remaining classrooms to study.”
One would therefore wonder why a state like Osun, with its pedigree in education infrastructure could leave a school with such history to dilapidate to a point that some members of the community are now forced to withdraw their wards to a neighbouring community school, despite the distance and the trekking required.
The Nation gathered that the children usually arrive school exhausted and frustrated, which inevitably affect their concentration
One of the teachers, who said the current student population would be around 300, noted that most of the classes were built with muds when the school commenced 42 years ago.
He also said, “Some students sit on bare floor during classes. It is clear that we have been forgotten by the government. Even the Education Ministry seldom posts teachers to this school. Even corps members don’t come here anymore because the school management cannot take care of them. Once they are posted here, they run away to seek better places. Former principal of the school, Dr Adeoba Olaleye, while stating that no government can do it all, said, “All stakeholders need to come together to rebuild the school and put infrastructure in place.”
He said he has made series of efforts to coordinate the Old Students to help the school.
“It was through my effort that we engineered the new building of four to five classrooms for the school. However this is inadequate. We need to do more.
“Government can’t do it. It is up to parents and the community to also rise up to the task, as we are all culpable in what has become of the once glorious school. We can’t just sit and look.”
A prominent chief in the community, who craved anonymity, also said the community should rise up to the challenge by coming to the aid of the school.
He also called on well-t-do old students and those doing well in the cities to use their positions of influence in promoting the school.
“Don’t wait for the government to do everything. The people should be selfless in order to bring greatness to the community. Those that are well to do in the community shouldn’t wait for the government before coming to the aid of the school.”
Another community leader, Tola Ogunkanmi said representative of Ola Oluwa Local Government have been around to assess the state of the school and that they have not set any time for work to begin on rehabilitation of the school.
He also called on past students to contribute their quotas towards fixing their school, pending when government would step in.
Although, Osun state have facilitated some new classes, it is far from adequate for the teeming population of wards coming to the school.
“We must not allow this great school to die. We don’t want our children to suffer like we are doing and education is the surest way out of poverty,” added Ogunkanmi.