Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has said his administration’s education policy is devoid of religious sentiments.
He said it was aimed at securing a brighter future for pupils in public schools.
Aregbesola spoke yesterday at the inauguration of new buildings at the Baptist Elementary Primary School in Ilare, Ile-Ife.
The governor; his deputy, Mrs. Titi Laoye-Tomori; and other members of the State Executive Council were dressed in the state’s school uniform.
Also at the event, which was aired live on the state’s radio and television broadcasting stations and independent television stations, were the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade; the governor’s wife, Mrs. Serifat Aregbesola; and House of Assembly Speaker Najeem Salaam, among others.
The governor urged the people to support his administration’s education policy, saying it would have a positive effect on pupils.
He said nothing would stop him from carrying out a revolution in the education sector and warned his critics against causing a crisis.
Aregbesola said he was neutral on religious issues, adding: “I have always been neutral and maintained a balance on religious matters. The future of our children should be more paramount in our hearts than religion or politics.
“The hallmark of our new education policy is the enhancement of better welfare for teachers and pupils in public schools. We have resolved to make our public schools better than the private ones, though we are not ready to compete with the private schools.
“We spent N1.2 billion on the Opon Imo (tablet of knowledge), which we distributed to pupils in senior secondary schools. We spent N14.8 billion on the construction of school buildings under the O’School programme.”
He said his administration was investing much in education because it was concerned about the ideal development of children and youths.
Aregbesola said his administration spent N14.4 billion capital expenditure on new schools and N21 billion recurrent expenditure annually on elementary schools.
He said N13.43 billion was spent on secondary schools, amounting to N84,000 per capital spending per elementary school pupil, and N30,000 per secondary school pupil.
The governor said the total capital expenditure on schools in the last three years, excluding new schools, is N31.31 billion.
He said: “What we have brought to education in Osun, if we will not sound immodest, amounts to a revolution. Critics who will be honest should compare this new school and its facilities to what obtained when they went to school and what public schools have become of recent.
“I repeat for the umpteenth time that our efforts at revamping education never had a religious motive. We are motivated by the highest ideal of developing a complete personality, who will be an asset to the society as he would be for himself.
“This is a total man that understands life as an endeavour to add value to society through the application of self for the benefit of all. We are clearly neutral on religious observances. It is this neutrality that is the root of the absurd stigmatisation.”
Aregbesola said if politicians were genuinely interested in the future of children, they would “bury their narrow concerns of today to assure children a glorious tomorrow”.
He said progress was desired by every human society and brought about by “persistently confronting and providing solutions to societal problems”.
The governor said the government should serve as an arbitrator in the society, always in pursuit of public interest, which is larger and necessary for the good and happiness of all.
His words: “The government must not discriminate or favour any group or individual. By design and purpose, the new school buildings are not for Muslims or for Christians. Neither are they for adherents of any other religion. They are for all children, regardless of their circumstances of birth. This, I expect, should be the basis upon which government should be engaged and encouraged. The education of our children should not be a subject of petty squabbles or unhealthy politics about our narrow interests.”
Listing his administration’s achievements, Aregbesola said it employed 10,407 teachers, adding that the state now has 12,715 teachers in primary schools and 7,848 in high schools, which amount to 54.8 per cent increase in the number of public school teachers.
The number of non-teaching staff has also increased by 564. The salary of primary and secondary school teachers and the pension of retired teachers cost N16.8 billion and N10.3 billion yearly.
The governor said N900 million was spent on free school uniforms and N3.6 billion on the elementary school feeding programme yearly.
He said: “On the supply of furniture to our schools, we have committed N2.5 billion so far and spent N503 million on instructional materials, which were not part of public school education before we assumed office. We have increased school grants from N122 million to N856 million. Under our administration, WAEC fees have shot up from N38 million to N400 million. We have also expended N1.2 billion on our pace-setting e-learning tablet, Opon-Imo.”
To Mrs. Laoye-Tomori, who is also the commissioner for Education, the school was a testimony to the administration’s sincerity on education reforms.
She described the Baptist Elementary Primary School, Ilare, as an architectural masterpiece designed to attract pupils and provide a level playing field for them, irrespective of their backgrounds.
The deputy governor said: “The education reform is a complete package to provide a level playing field for pupils of school age.
“We introduced the school meal system, called O’Meal, to provide balanced diets for pupils to enhance their physical and mental development.
“The school is an architectural masterpiece designed to accommodate 1,000 pupils. The classrooms are well-ventilated. This will allow for more space as opposed to the old crowded classroom system and this will ultimately promote learning.”
The Ooni hailed Aregbesola for what he described as “a wonder of a school”.
He said: “I saw the new school and I was pleased with what I saw. The people of the town and state will confirm that the school is one of the best they have seen in this country. I urge the people to continue to support the government so that it can do more.”
