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May Day: Governor Adeleke Flaunts Achievements, Says “We are All Comrades” | Pictures from Ipade IMOLE and official flag off ceremony of Dualisation of Ereja square – Imo – Ilesa/Akure Express road by Governor Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke today. | Osun New Logo: Winners Emerge As Governor Adeleke Set For Unveiling Today. | State Task Force Warns Marketers Against Fuel Hoarding and Price Inflation | Governor Adeleke celebrates Hon Oke at 57 | INFRA PLAN: Governor Adeleke to flag off Dualisation of Ilesa Akure expressway Junction – Brewery – Ereja/Palace Square, Ilesa and Lagere Junction Flyover, Ile Ife. | Osun Logo Competition Closes, Ajala, Oderinu, Others Named Panel of Judges | Governor Adeleke Hosts Nigeria’s First Lady, Commends her Passion for Public Service | Governor Adeleke Cancels Selection of Akiriboto Oke Monarch, Orders Compliance with Due Process | NO CONFUSION, OSUN STATE FIRST LADY, CHIEF (MRS) TITILAYO ADELEKE IS TO HOST THE FIRST LADY OF NIGERIA | First Lady’s visit to Osun, opportunity for children, women’s development- Mrs Titilola Adeleke | IPADE IMOLE HOLDS ON APRIL 30TH | State Government to Osun APC: Stop Lying, Osun Government not Rebagging Palliative | Osun Set to Host First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu as She Launches “Alternative High School For Girls. | Governor Adeleke Seeks Fair Treatment for Nigerians in South Africa, Plans MOU with Gauteng | Governor Adeleke Orders Logo Design Competition Between April 19th to 26th | His Excellency, Gov. Ademola Adeleke received the Management of Mercy Medical University, Iwara, Iwo, Osun State | Asset recovery: We shall abide by the Express provisions of the law- Osun SSG, Igbalaye. | Governor Adeleke Appoints Dr. Wale Bolorunduro Chairman of Living Trust Mortgage Bank Plc. | Abuja honours Governor Adeleke, nephew, Davido, names street after them

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May Day: Governor Adeleke Flaunts Achievements, Says “We are All Comrades” | Pictures from Ipade IMOLE and official flag off ceremony of Dualisation of Ereja square – Imo – Ilesa/Akure Express road by Governor Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke today. | Osun New Logo: Winners Emerge As Governor Adeleke Set For Unveiling Today. | State Task Force Warns Marketers Against Fuel Hoarding and Price Inflation | Governor Adeleke celebrates Hon Oke at 57 | INFRA PLAN: Governor Adeleke to flag off Dualisation of Ilesa Akure expressway Junction – Brewery – Ereja/Palace Square, Ilesa and Lagere Junction Flyover, Ile Ife. | Osun Logo Competition Closes, Ajala, Oderinu, Others Named Panel of Judges | Governor Adeleke Hosts Nigeria’s First Lady, Commends her Passion for Public Service | Governor Adeleke Cancels Selection of Akiriboto Oke Monarch, Orders Compliance with Due Process | NO CONFUSION, OSUN STATE FIRST LADY, CHIEF (MRS) TITILAYO ADELEKE IS TO HOST THE FIRST LADY OF NIGERIA | First Lady’s visit to Osun, opportunity for children, women’s development- Mrs Titilola Adeleke | IPADE IMOLE HOLDS ON APRIL 30TH | State Government to Osun APC: Stop Lying, Osun Government not Rebagging Palliative | Osun Set to Host First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu as She Launches “Alternative High School For Girls. | Governor Adeleke Seeks Fair Treatment for Nigerians in South Africa, Plans MOU with Gauteng | Governor Adeleke Orders Logo Design Competition Between April 19th to 26th | His Excellency, Gov. Ademola Adeleke received the Management of Mercy Medical University, Iwara, Iwo, Osun State | Asset recovery: We shall abide by the Express provisions of the law- Osun SSG, Igbalaye. | Governor Adeleke Appoints Dr. Wale Bolorunduro Chairman of Living Trust Mortgage Bank Plc. | Abuja honours Governor Adeleke, nephew, Davido, names street after them
Osun To Disburse N600m To Women Entrepreneurs

Osun State government is to disburse a total of N600 million to women entrepreneurs in the state.
This is coming as no fewer than 200,000 people would benefit from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) N2 billion Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF) in the state.
The state government is to add its counterpart fund of N2 billion, expected to increase the beneficiaries to 400,000.
Speaking at a day sensitisation workshop on the N220 billion MSMEDF fund organised by the Osun State branch of the CBN for stakeholders in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, Governor Rauf Aregbesola said the state government will in the next few weeks begin the disbursement of the N600 million to empower the women of the state.
The governor, who was represented by Wale Bolorunduro, commissioner for finance, at the workshop, said the government had worked out modalities with microfinance banks to disburse the loans to the beneficiaries.
The governor, who urged the people, especially women of the state to maximise the opportunity of the CBN loans, described women as a major factor in the economy development of the state.
While promising that the state was ready to maximise the apex bank loan for development of the state and its citizenry, he stated that the state government would provide its counterpart fund very soon, saying the state government would provide bank guarantee for the co-operatives in the state that show interest to access the fund.
Speaking further on the economy policy of the state government, Aregbesola stated that when the present administration came on board in November 2010, the gross domestic product (GDP) was N5 billion, which it had increased into over N9 billion in year 2013, and condemned critics of his government.
He pointed out that, according to the Federal Government data on GDP, the state was in number seven out of 36 states of the federation now, adding that the opposition parties in the state lacked knowledge about the economic development of the state.
However, as part of its economic drive, the state is to commission the multi-million naira Osogbo Ayegbaju International Market soon for usage of the traders across the state.
In his address at the workshop, Macduff Okorode Efetabore, the CBN controller in Osun State, disclosed the reason why the apex bank initiated the MSMEDF fund, saying was to develop the economy status of the over two million Nigeria citizens, particularly the 60 percent of women entrepreneurs, within the period of 10 years.
Effetabore maintained that “the MSMED fund has two broad objectives which are social and commercial. The social/development fund shall constitute 10 percent, with grants 5 percent, interest drawback 3 percent, managing agents’ operation cost 2 percent. The commercial fund shall constitute 90 percent of the fund as follows: Wholesale funding – 90 percent of the commercial component and guarantees/refinancing – 10 percent of the commercial component.
“Considering the peculiar challenges faced by women in accessing financial services in Nigeria, the revised micro-finance policy, regulatory and supervisory framework in section 4.2(1V), provides that women’s access to financial services should increase by 15 percent annually in order to eliminate gender disparity.
“In order to achieve this, 60 percent, which is N132 billion of the fund has been earmarked for providing financial services to women.
“In operating the fund, special consideration shall also be given to institutions that will provide financial services to graduates of the CBN’s Entrepreneurship Development Centres (EDCs).”
BUSINESSDAY

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Hard Work, Antidote To Poverty – Aregbesola

oyeGovernor of the state of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has stated that hard work is the only antidote to poverty and the economic hardship the country is currently facing.
He said for government to have a meaningful impact on the masses, the government must seek for the benefits of the majority of the people which is why the present administration has deemed it right to establish the OYES scheme at the inception of the government.
The Governor was speaking yesterday in Osogbo after the endurance trek with members of the OYES cadets marking the first anniversary of the 2013/2015 batch which is the second batch and also the third anniversary of the OYES scheme in the state.
He held that motivation to build a strong economy and at the same time engage the jobless youths meaningfuly is the reason why the present administration in the past three years has been doing what no government has ever attempted in the history of the country.
The Governor stated further that the administration  ,which is people -friendly ,has decided to keep its promise of taking away the misery of powerlessness and the pain of idleness away from the youths of the state stressing that it is because of the commitment to this promise that the government has spent about  N9 billion into the OYES scheme in the past three years.
Ogbeni Aregbesola ,who declared that the administration and the people of the state are proud of the services of the youths in the state ,promised that the state government will continue to strive to be able to meet the financial needs of the scheme noting that the monthly stipend being paid to the youths has gone a long way in boosting the economy of the state.
While urging the youths to continue with the good work they are doing in the state, the state helmsman emphasised that it is better to be engaged in dignified labour than to do anything that will bring disrepute and abuse to an individual while promising the cadets that their outstanding allowances will soon be paid.
In a remark, the state Commissioner for Youths, Sports and Special Needs, Mr Stephen  Kola Balogun stated that the issue of youth empowerment as a way out of economic lock jam is now a worldwide phenomenon.
He stressed that the present administration has spent so much on youth empowerment which has been immensely successful while charging the cadets to make the best of the opportunity by ensuring that they are empowered before their exit period.
In a goodwill message, the Executive Secretary, Osogbo Local Government, Hon. Isiaka Faramade expressed appreciation to the government of Ogbeni Aregbesola for touching the lives of youths in the state through the OYES scheme.
Earlier in welcome address, the OYES Commandant, Col. Eniibukun Oyewole (rtd) stressed that the programme has come to stay, noting that the youths will not remain the same by the time they are exiting from  the scheme.
While explaining that there is a difference between empowerment and employment, the retired colonel emphasised that the state government is ready to empower them to be employers of labour themselves.
The Governor, Deputy Governor, members of the state Executive Council and OYES cadets from Osogbo and Olorunda Local Governments had earlier took part in an endurance trek amidst cheers from members of the public from Oke Ayepe through station  road before terminating at the freedom park in Osogbo.
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AREGBE PHOTO

AREGBE PHOTOIn this interview, Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Najeem Sallam, speaks on Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as Independent Man-of-the-Year 2013. Excerpts:
What is your take on Governor Rauf Aregbesola emerging as the Man of the Year 2013 of Independent Newspapers?
Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola is one man who brings a lot to the table of governance in Osun, and as the Speaker of the State parliament, I am privy to do many things this man is capable of, and the yardstick used by the newspaper to elect Aregbesola is not only unique, but also unprecedented in the history of the award in this country, and I may safely say that so it is in this continent.
So, my take on the award is that the man, Aregbesola actually merits the symbol of new thinking used as indicator, because he brought so many initiatives that were not found anywhere in the world, he has brought development considered unbelievable to the state, and I stand to be corrected. His school feeding programme has drawn the attention of the international community to us, his education policy coupled with tablet of knowledge ‘Opon Imo’ has won the state international accolades, and his employment generation has placed Osun as the seventh largest economy in the country. However, it was obvious that the resources accrued to the state could not even finance salaries and pension alone. Aregbesola is eminently qualified.
Having had his achievement acknowledged, don’t you think the award is capable of whittling down his morale to do more?
Thinking that award would whittle down Aregbesola’s passion is an underestimation of what Ogbeni is. One thing is very clear, Aregbesola is driven and motivated to carve a niche for himself in the history of this state in particular, and the country in general. So, all his moves, his projects, and initiatives are attributed to the creation of a new man who is complete mentally, behaviourally, emotionally. And a cursory look at his six-point integral action plan is interwoven around the concept of emotional intelligence called ‘Omoluabi’.
So, Aregbesola is not a man who seeks power to hoodwink or window dress, but to make a lasting impression that will make his name indelible in the plaque of history. I think he reads our late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo like book, and he is making effort to re-establish the lost era, and I am sure he is still running a time bound race that demands more for positive result.
But the opposition insists that Ategbesola has not done anything to warrant celebration?
That is expected of the opposition, I was once in the opposition, and I know that our job is to keep the government on its toes by pointing out its flaws and be silent on its achievement, but the opposition we have in Osun of today is not a thinking opposition, they are just begging for relevance, when they ought do their homework, and engage the government in a constructive criticism, but they seem to love blackmail and rumors as instrument of propaganda. Such an opposition does not worth a dime. I pray they turn a new leaf, so that we can have a complete process of democracy in place.
What is your advice on the forthcoming governorship election?
I am confident that the good people of Osun, the employer of any office holder would not be hoodwinked into another terrible experiment that drew the state back for years before the advent of Aregbesola’s administration. But what matters is for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to do justice to the election by being free, fair and credible.
Let it be known that what obtained in Anambra election would not happen here, because our people would not sleep until the winner is declared, that shows we are going to positively make one man, one vote counts.
DAILY INDEPENDENT

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SONY DSC

SONY DSCWife of Osun State Governor, Mrs. Sherifat Aregbesola, has presented 360,000 packs of milk to pupils in public schools in the state.
She made the donation through her non-governmental organisation, Sheri Care Foundation, in Osogbo on Thursday.
The donation, she said, was in support of the school feeding programme inaugurated by her husband, Rauf.
She explained that the motive was to give back to the society and to enhance the learning capability of the pupils in public schools.
She said, “Today’s programme is the presentation of 360,000 packs of nourishing milk, specially fortified with iron and iodine,  in aid of the school feeding programme. This is in line with our tradition of supporting educational policies of the state administration.”
She said the gesture was part of the partnership between SCARF and FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc.
The  SCARF, she added,  had been involved  in other academic activities that  promoted excellence, which included an  annual debate among  secondary school pupils.
The governor’s wife, who hailed her husband’s policy on education, said enrolment had increased since  the pupils in elementary classes were offered free meals, through its O’meal programme.
Meanwhile, a statement issued on Thursday, by the Osun Movement for Peace, said it had concluded plans to host stakeholders’ symposium on education in Osogbo  in March. The forum, the group said would offer the participants the components of the Aregbesola’s education policies.
PUNCH

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Aregbesola: “The Glory Of Public Schools Will Be Restored In Osun State”

New Model Baptist Elementary School 8Governor Rauf Aregbesola has stated that he will not renege on his efforts to restore the glory of public schools in Osun state and make it the citadel of learning. “Our pioneer leaders went to public school and they did well.”
He said that work is still going on in Osun and will not stop until his administration achieve her goal of making public schools in Osun places where pupils can get the kind of education that will place them at par with the very best in the world. “This is our ultimate aim, and by the grace of God, and your support and understanding, we will realise this objective to the greater future of our children and our state,” Aregbesola told the people of Osun at the official commissioning of Baptist Central Elementary School, Ilare, Ile-Ife.
He said, “What we have brought to education in Osun, if we will not sound imodest, 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 am sure very few, if any private school can compare favourably with the schools we are building. Yet we are not competing with private schools.”
According to him, the role of private school is to complement and not displace government in the provision of certain essential services, stressing that our society has to do away with the notion that the government must necessarily fail in certain endeavours which must then be yielded to the private sector. Moreover, while insisting on quality education and conducive learning environment for students, the governor reiterated that pioneer leaders who went to public schools did well in its ramifications.
New Model Baptist Elementary School 13
He noted that preparing our children for the future is a responsibility that we must fulfill, adding that leaders will never be forgiven if they fail in their responsibilities. According to him, the world around us is moving on; and at a pace that leaves no room for lack of seriousness or half-measures, especially with regard to education.
The education of our children, he warned, should not be a subject for petty squabbles or unhealthy politics about our narrow interests, adding, “if we are genuinely interested in the future of our children, we should bury our narrow concerns of today in order to assure for them a glorious tomorrow.” Upon this, he stated, “we will not be distracted from this objective even if it means stepping on toes, we are unstopable”
For the benefit of doubt, Aregbesola, however disclosed that the new school buildings are not for Muslims or for Christians, neither are they for adherents of any other religion, adding that they are for all children of Osun, regardless of their circumstances of birth.
On issue of religion, the governor said his efforts at revamping education never had a religious motive, but that he is motivated by the highest ideal of developing a complete personality who will be an asset to society as he would be for himself. “We are clearly neutral on religious observances,” he added.
Recalling his administration’s investment in education, Aregbesola said, “We have added 10,407 new teachers to the list of public school teaching staff in Osun. Thus, we now have 12,715 teachers in our primary schools and 7,848 teachers in our secondary schools. This amounts to a 54.8 per cent increase in the number of public school teachers we inherited. The same applies to non-teaching staff whose number has also increased by 564.
“As a result, the salaries and pensions of our primary and secondary school teachers now cost the government N16.8 billion and N10.3 billion respectively on an annual basis. On the free school uniforms, we expended N900 million, while the elementary school feeding programme costs N3.6 billion every year.
“On the supply of furniture to our schools, we have committed N2.5 billion so far, while we have spent N503 million on instructional materials which were not part of public school education before we assumed office. We have similarly increased school grants from N122 million to N856 million. Under our administration, WAEC fees have also shot up from N38 million to N400 million. We have also expended N1.2 billion on our pace-setting e-learning tablet, Opon-Imo.
“Along with building new schools, we are also renovating and upgrading some of the existing ones. On this we have spent N1.6 billion. On the new schools, we have committed N14.4 billion on capital projects, while our recurrent annual expenditure is N21 billion on elementary schools, and N13.43 billion on secondary schools. This amounts to per capita spending of N84,000 per elementary school pupil, and N30,000 per secondary school pupil. The total capital expenditure on all schools in the last three years outside new schools is N31.31 billion.”
VANGAURD

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Osun Has Employed Adequate Teachers – Government

6In its quest to ensure delivery of quality teaching to pupils and students in public Elementary, Middle and High Schools in the State of Osun, the present administration of Governor Rauf Aregbesola has recruited nothing less than 10,470 teachers translating to 54.8% increase in the number of teachers inherited upon assumption of office in November 2010.

The state Deputy Governor and Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Grace Titilayo Laoye-Tomori, stated this in her welcome address titled: The Beauty of a Nurtured Vision read at the official commissioning of the Baptist Central Elementary School, Ilare, Ile-Ife built by the present administration in the state.
According to Mrs. Laoye-Tomori, this laudable step  to transform public education in the state has brought the total number of teachers in the state’s public Elementary Schools to 12,715 while 7,848 teachers are presently working at both the Middle and High Schools which is an indication that change is inevitable and possible in life only if conceived by visionary leaders.
The Deputy Governor said promotion, training and retraining of teachers into the state public schools is at the forefront of activities of the present administration in the state with a view to delivering effective teaching and learning to pupils and students in the state’s public schools saying this giant stride has led to total transformation of publc education in the State.
Relaying how Governor Rauf Aregbesola has wholly justified confidence reposed in him by the people of the state by electing him into power in 2007, Mrs. Laoye-Tomori said the present administration has removed all financial burden from parents and introduced school feeding programme, O-Meal, to bring a level playing ground to education sector in the State.
Appealing to pupils and students to pay adequate attention to their education, the state Deputy Governor advised them that any child who desires education will be better by it but those who reject education will be disgraced in life saying education is the key to moulding a total man socially, academically and intellectually for the future.
Decribing state government’s unacceptability of unruly behaviour of pupils and students in public schools in the state, Mrs. Laoye-Tomori urged parents to join hands with teachers so as to jointly bring up their wards positively with a view to giving the state a better future adding that works have reached completion stages at thirteen Elementary, twenty Middle and thirteen High Schools across the state.
Applauding the giant stride of the state government, the Ooni of Ife, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, said the edifice is an evidence of good work as executed by Governor Rauf Aregbesola and urged people of the state to continually pray for success of the administration.
In the words of some pioneer pupils of Baptist Central Elementary School in 1945, Adebisi Koyejo and Ladun Adaralegbe, commended efforts taken by the state government to transform education in the State of Osun which hey compared to that of the Late Sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo during his time as Premier of the Old Western Region.
Meanwhile, the state Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, in his speech titled: We Are Unstoppable said the desire of his administration to give better future to children of the State influenced the decision to massively invest in the education sector of the state.
Describing education as the key to human development and advancement, Governor Aregbesola said woe betide any state or nation that fails to prepare for her future through the provision of adequate and standard education for her children saying the state government has concluded plans to ensure that every High School student in the state collects  his or her Opon Imo before this year runs out.
Facilities available at the newly commissioned Baptist Central Elementary School, Ilare, Ile-Ife include twenty-five classrooms, one Head Mistress office, one Assistant Head Mistress office, two staff rooms, one examination hall, standard toilets, one dining hall, one food court, two libraries, an astro turf football pitch, an expansive playing ground, recreational facilities and security post while a qualified facility manager was engaged by the state government to ensure effective management of facilities provided in the school.
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Baptist_Ilare_02

Baptist_Ilare_02The group, Osun Movement for Peace, said it was unfortunate that a unique and rich policy that could have translated into a national strategy for bail-out of the shambolic public school sector, has suddenly assumed religious and political coloration, fueled largely by mischief and partisanship.
The group, which claims to be non-political, noted that current trend of discussion relating to the Osun School system in circles expected to churn out informed opinions continued to focus solely on the reclassification of schools and an attempt to rubbish the wider public spirit and mission of the policy.
It added that efforts were being made to play down the holistic beneficial impact of the various components of the policy such as the OUniform, OMeal and Opon Imo, which have been adjudged as revolutionary concepts in public school management approach in the country.
The group described the on-going rejuvenation of the public school sector in Osun as a strong rebranding project that has begun to impact positively on the state’s overall education management profile as well as the state’s economy in key areas like job creation, empowerment and agricultural development.
It therefore called on all well-meaning Osun indigenes to shun sentiments and support the effort to create a new public school order in the state for the future of Osun children.
The proposed symposium which is to hold in Osogbo in the first week of March, will seek to dissect the various components of the much maligned Osun policy on public school management with a view to enhancing public understanding and appreciation of its desirability.
The symposium will also serve as a platform for constructive engagement of critical stakeholders to ensure the non-derailment of the noble vision behind the policy formulation.
It would be recalled that while counting the modest gains recorded by the state’s new education policy in less than two years of its implementation, the State governor, Rauf Aregbesola, had posited that the need for the policy as a comprehensive and holistic response to a scandalous educational rot, which had threatened the socio-economic growth of the state, was non-negotiable.
“Our education policy is tailored towards making the Osun public schools system produce the complete child, to become the complete youth and grow up to become the complete citizen, empowered in learning and in character, in the best tradition of the Yoruba Omoluabi.
“That way, they would be equipped, culturally and academically, anywhere they find themselves in the world, aside from becoming patriots, to take care of their state and country that had earlier taken care of them”, he explained.
He noted that the reforms have had tremendous multi-level impacts on the Osun educational competitiveness.
According to him, “In the area of funding, the reforms have led to a radical increase in grants and subventions for the administration of public primary and secondary schools as total grant for the 1378 pubic primary schools in Osun jumped from N7.4 million a year to N424 million a year”.
“Additionally, Osun, from a 34th placing among Nigeria’s 36 states in 2010, moved to 18th position in 2011 and 8th position in 2012, in performance rankings in the West African School Certificate Examinations (WASCE).
“Pupils from the state have also chalked up improved performances in national and international competitions, according to compilations by the Osun Ministry of Education.
“In addition, the reforms have earned a partnership with UNESCO to build a regional teacher training institute in the state, and a fresh programme in the area of adult education”.
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"Our Pioneer Leaders Attended Public Schools And Excelled" – Aregbesola


Our pioneer leaders went to public schools, and did well, says Aregbesola

Governor Rauf Aregbesola has stated that he will not renege on his efforts to restore the glory of public schools in State of Osun and make it the citadel of learning. “Our pioneer leaders went to public school and they did well.”
He said that work is still going on in Osun and will not stop until his administration achieve her goal of making public schools in Osun places where pupils can get the kind of education that will place them at par with the very best in the world. “This is our ultimate aim, and by the grace of God, and your support and understanding, we will realise this objective to the greater future of our children and our state,” Aregbesola told the people of Osun at the official commissioning of Baptist Central Elementary School, Ilare, Ile-Ife.
Our pioneer leaders went to public schools, and did well, says Aregbesola
He said, “What we have brought to education in Osun, if we will not sound imodest, 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 am sure very few, if any private school can compare favourably with the schools we are building. Yet we are not competing with private schools.”
According to him, the role of private school is to complement and not displace government in the provision of certain essential services, stressing that our society has to do away with the notion that the government must necessarily fail in certain endeavours which must then be yielded to the private sector. Moreover, while insisting on quality education and conducive learning environment for students, the governor reiterated that pioneer leaders who went to public schools did well in its ramifications.
Our pioneer leaders went to public schools, and did well, says Aregbesola
He noted that preparing our children for the future is a responsibility that we must fulfill, adding that leaders will never be forgiven if they fail in their responsibilities. According to him, the world around us is moving on; and at a pace that leaves no room for lack of seriousness or half-measures, especially with regard to education.
The education of our children, he warned, should not be a subject for petty squabbles or unhealthy politics about our narrow interests, adding, “if we are genuinely interested in the future of our children, we should bury our narrow concerns of today in order to assure for them a glorious tomorrow.” Upon this, he stated, “we will not be distracted from this objective even if it means stepping on toes, we are unstopable”
For the benefit of doubt, Aregbesola, however disclosed that the new school buildings are not for Muslims or for Christians, neither are they for adherents of any other religion, adding that they are for all children of Osun, regardless of their circumstances of birth.
On issue of religion, the governor said his efforts at revamping education never had a religious motive, but that he is motivated by the highest ideal of developing a complete personality who will be an asset to society as he would be for himself. “We are clearly neutral on religious observances,” he added.
Recalling his administration’s investment in education, Aregbesola said, “We have added 10,407 new teachers to the list of public school teaching staff in Osun. Thus, we now have 12,715 teachers in our primary schools and 7,848 teachers in our secondary schools. This amounts to a 54.8 per cent increase in the number of public school teachers we inherited. The same applies to non-teaching staff whose number has also increased by 564.
“As a result, the salaries and pensions of our primary and secondary school teachers now cost the government N16.8 billion and N10.3 billion respectively on an annual basis. On the free school uniforms, we expended N900 million, while the elementary school feeding programme costs N3.6 billion every year.
“On the supply of furniture to our schools, we have committed N2.5 billion so far, while we have spent N503 million on instructional materials which were not part of public school education before we assumed office. We have similarly increased school grants from N122 million to N856 million. Under our administration, WAEC fees have also shot up from N38 million to N400 million. We have also expended N1.2 billion on our pace-setting e-learning tablet, Opon-Imo.
Opon Imo scholars
“Along with building new schools, we are also renovating and upgrading some of the existing ones. On this we have spent N1.6 billion. On the new schools, we have committed N14.4 billion on capital projects, while our recurrent annual expenditure is N21 billion on elementary schools, and N13.43 billion on secondary schools. This amounts to per capita spending of N84,000 per elementary school pupil, and N30,000 per secondary school pupil. The total capital expenditure on all schools in the last three years outside new schools is N31.31 billion.”
VANGUARD

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OPONIMO

OPONIMOThe Osun State Government has so far distributed 23,100 computer tablets popularly known in the state as ‘Opon Imo.’ The tablets were produced through a partnership between the state and a Chinese firm. The total number of the tablets already produced is 50, 000.
The state said further distribution of the device was being delayed to allow some modification that would personalise each device for every student in a way that would prevent theft and wrong use of the product.
The state also assured Nigerians on durable and affordable telephone handsets that would soon be produced from its technology village to meet the needs of citizens across the country.
The State Commissioner for Inter-governmental Affairs and Special Duties, Mr. Ajibola Bashir, who dropped the hint at the weekend during a media parley hosted in Lagos  by the National Legal Adviser of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Muiz Banire, further disclosed that to produce extra 100,000 pieces of the devices, the state government had to enter into a partnership with the Chinese firm producing the device to transfer the technology to Nigeria by establishing a factory in the state’s technology village in Ilesa.
In the factory, other products such as telephone handsets, laptop computers among others would be produced and repaired by Nigerians who have been trained by the foreign firm.
According to him: “We are doing this for technological transfer because it won’t be economically reasonable to import that magnitude of devices from abroad. So, why not have the manufacturing company here. As we speak now, the company is already on ground and manufacturing and installation of the software of this product is being done in Ilesa.
“The company will solve the problem of telephone handsets rip-off on Nigerians because it would be able to meet the demands of Nigerian telephone consumers and this would be cheaper. Over 5,000 citizens of the state have been trained on the manufacturing of telecommunication devices and some of them have been sent to Ghana for further skill acquisition,” Bashir said.
He further disclosed that the administration recruited no fewer than 7,350 teachers that have been trained with a view to taking the public schools in the state to the level of highbrow private schools in the state.
He revealed that private schools in the state are even losing students to public schools due to facilities being put in place and the condusive learning environment.
“When the administration of Aregbesola berthed in the state of Osun, the first thing we had to brainstorm on is how to jump start the non-existent economy of the state because the allocation that accrues to the state from the federation account was not even enough to pay salaries of workers,” he said, adding, “at a point, one of our leaders suggested that we should establish a factory that would be producing slippers so that we can generate funds to implement all the things we had promised the people.”
THIS DAY

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Commissionin0Sch-7

Commissionin0Sch-7Osun State government has stressed the need to make people at the grassroots actively contribute to the decision making and developmental projects through Community Information Board (CIB).
The Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, who doubles as Vice Chairman, State Planning Commission (SPC), made the remarks at a two-day training workshop on the use of Community Information Board organized by the National Orientation Agency, Osun State Government in collaboration with UNICEF in Osogbo.
Adeoti, who stressed the importance of collection of data for the benefit of the communities, said it is imperative to organize the workshop to train the NOA officers, key community operators and local government officers on the implementation of Community Information Board.
He explained that the information and data collected from the Community Information Board (CIB) will be used for community development.
According to him, “it is imperative to organize this workshop in order to train the National Orientation Agency (NOA) officers, key community operators and local government officers on the implementation of community information board so as to use information for community development and to enhance communication for analytical reports and collection of data from identified data sources to the benefits of their communities.
In addition, this workshop will build the capacities of the participants for systematic monitoring, documentation and to utilise information to bring about social change at community level and to get what they need to improve their own lives through the use of community dialogue.
DAILY INDEPENDENT

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