EDUCATION: Ministry Advises Schools To Adhere To Curriculum, Guidelines…

Mr. Lawrence Oyeniran, the Permanent Secretary, Osun Ministry of Education, has advised heads of public and private schools in the state to comply strictly with curriculum and guidelines.
Oyeniran gave the advice while presiding over the 2013 West African Examinations Council (WAEC) Committee meeting in Osogbo.
He said government saw the monitoring of schools, teachers and learning facilities a priority.
“This is why the Teaching Service Commission, formerly known as TESCOM, was decentralised into three education districts with the appointment of Tutor-General as Permanent Secretary to oversee the districts.
“The essence of the yearly WAEC committee meeting is to appraise WAEC activities with a view to improve students’ performance in the state.
“Government’s policy of re-classification of schools is in conformity with the national curriculum, aimed at removing the rot in the education sector,’’ Oyeniran said.
He appealed to the branch controller of WAEC in the state, Mr. Ayo Oluwafemi, to release the statistics of students’ performance.
Oyeniran said the analysis was to enable government to reward the best 10 students in the year 2013 WAEC examination.
Briefing the meeting, Mr. Kafaru Babatunde-Ola, the Zonal Co-ordinator of WAEC, said the council would not compromise its long-standing record of zero tolerance for corruption.
Babatunde-Ola disclosed that from the year 2014, any student caught with mobile phone during examinations would have his or her entire results cancelled.
He urged the Ministry of Education to officially issue a circular that would prohibit the use of mobile phones by students in examination halls.
Babatunde-Ola urged the ministry to also embark on public enlightenment programmes for students and parents.
“The fight against examination malpractices goes beyond individuals, but a collective responsibility of all stakeholders in the education sector,’’ he said.
The meeting had in attendance representatives from the Nigeria Union of Teachers, Federal Ministry of Education, the state Civil Service Commission, Conference of Principals and Parents Teachers Association (PTA).
THE NIGERIAN OBSERVER