OSUN SCHOOL REFORM: Forum Of Executive Secretaries WarnOpposition Against Religious Incitement

The opposition parties in the State of Osun have been warned to desist from instigating religious crises in the State, particularly on education reform of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, the Executive Governor of the State.

The Forum of the Executive Secretaries in the State of Osun said, oppositions were supposed to bury their heads in shame for they have totally failed in their plan to truncate the peaceful co-existence among the people of the state since the inception of the present Administration.
The Forum chairman, in the state, Prince Olusoji Ajayi disclosed this on Thursday, February 27, 2014 at a media briefing, held at the Local Government Secretariat, Abeere, Osogbo.
Ajayi who described education reform of Governor Aregbesola as a positive step to ameliorate the future of the state education, said parents who have their children and wards in the public schools, disclosed that pockets of crises experienced in some schools were politically motivated.
Ajayi maintained that the school reclassification was aimed at strengthen education, and to make education more functional in the state as obtainable elsewhere in the world, adding that all these were vividly clear to the majority of people in the state and that was why they strongly gave Aregbesola support over the reclassification.
Commending Aregbesola for his relentless effort at revamping education in the state, the Chairman noted that before the advent of the present administration, the education sector was appalling; majority of school buildings were in shambles, adding that with the intervention of the Aregbesola educational policy, the story has since changed for better.
Part of the ground breaking achievements according to the chairman was the rehabilitation and construction of over 170 state of the art model schools, the model school which each of them have the capacity to accommodate 1,000 pupils, 1,200 students for middle schools and 3,000 students for high schools.
On the suppose controversies trailing the school reclassification and merger, The Chairman debunked the allegations that Aregbesola wanted to impose the use of Hijab on Students of the public schools, saying that there was nothing of such.
Ajayi who explained that public school was not meant for a particular person, or religious, said it is a place where everybody, irrespective of their religious affiliation, has equal right, saying nobody can enforce his/her religious doctrine on others.
“A public school is not even where you can practice religion at all; it is basically for academic purpose. The present administration is not giving priority to a particular religion; it is an administration that allowed level playing ground for all religions”.
“We want to dismiss the rumour that Governor Aregbesola is enforcing the use of hijab in the missionary established schools.”
The chairman stated categorically that the uproar in some public schools were politically motivated; noting that the oppositions are hiding under reclassification to attack the education policy, which he said had been yielding positive result.
He therefore, urged the parents, guardians, religious leaders not to allow themselves to be used by the disgruntle politicians who were ejected from government due to electoral fraud.
“These set of politicians are being frustrated by the achievements of Aregbesola, and thus, they have resulted to negatively imbue people to reject his policy. They are set of politicians that failed the state between 2003 and 2010.”
“The rapid development of the state of Osun under the present administration is jolting them and signaling their fading out of mainstream politics in Osun; thus they want to soil Aregbesola’s image”, he added.
Ajayi who described opposition’s devilish efforts to drag the good image of Aregbesola into the mud as a total failure said the upsurge in the enrolment of public primary schools was unprecedented which could be attributed to the introduction of a pragramme called O’ Meals, the school feeding and health programme where over 3000 food vendors were employed.
He added that the introduction of the award winning and ground breaking Tablet of Knowledge popularly called “Opon-Imo” into the state education sector where over 150,000 copies were distributed among the senior students was another commendable achievement of the Aregbesola’s led administration.
Ajayi while urging the governor not to relent in his effort at consolidating the state education, also enjoined all religious leaders to cooperate with the Governor and support his administration to success.
BIOREPORT