Kunle ADELABU, Seun AJAYI, Oluwatobiloba ALAKE & Joseph FOLARIN
-Parents call for reintroduction of discipline, levy, infrastructure development in public schools
Parents in Education District II have again called for the reintroduction of discipline in public schools and enjoined the Lagos State Government to provide more infrastructures and make school environment more conducive for learning for the teachers and students.
They made these requests at the interactive session they had with the Tutor-General/Permanent Secretary (TG/PS), Education District II, Mr Olaniyi Gbemi, and education administrators in the district.
The meeting, which was held at the Oriwu Model College Ikorodu hall on Wednesday, December 13, 2017, was also attended by principals and parents across the three zones (Ikorodu,Kosofe and Somolu), in Education District II, Maryland.
Mr Gbemi, while addressing the parked hall, highlighted some of the achievements of the district and urged parents to be more committed in looking after their wards and assisting the government.
The TG/PS also informed the gathering of the government’s readiness to provide befitting structures in some schools, particularly those in Ikorodu.
He also reiterated government’s policy of non-levying of students in public schools, stating that parents could assist in infrastructural developments voluntarily without victimizing others.
“The ban on levying any student in Lagos State public schools is still in force and I have warned my principals and teachers not to violate this law”.
“The government is prepared to give our students and teachers conducive environment for learning and teaching. And we also welcome assistance from our parents”.
“Such assistance must be voluntary among the parents and must not lead to any rancor or victimization of any student whose parents do not participate in such voluntary donation”, he warned.
Mr Gbemi also enjoined the parents to stop dragging his principals into the politics of the Parents’ Forum.
“I also want to appeal to you to stop dragging my teachers into your politics. The forum is for you to operate and organize in such a way that would promote harmony among the parents, school and the government”.
“You should endeavour to comply with the digital age development where you don’t have to contribute to school development by collecting cash. It is advisable for the parents to contribute via internet banking and deposit into a dedicated account of their choice without bringing any of the principals or teachers into it”.
He also warned against the development where some parents parade themselves as chairmen of both junior and secondary schools.
“It is an aberration for any particular parent to be parading his/herself as chairman in both junior and secondary schools of a particular school. It is against the rule. The chairmen and other executives of the junior and senior schools must differ from each other and I have directed my principals to make reversal where such is happening”.
On security challenges in Reri Senior Secondary School in Igbogbo/Bayeku Local Council Development Area (LCDA) and other schools , Mr Gbemi assured that the government is on top of the situation as it is reviewing security systems in schools.
In the area of structures in schools that are lacking, TG/PS announced that the state of structures and learning environment in schools like Agbede, Maya and others are of great concern to the government and that work would begin soon to give them befitting structures.
Parents’ Forum in schools like Shamsideen Senior Secondary School in Ikorodu, Odogunyan Junior Secondary in Odogunyan in Ikorodu North LCDA and few others received commendations from the TG/PS for their assistance and support.
Parents in those schools had constructed and donated block of classrooms and one hundred and fifty chairs with other ongoing projects.
During the interactive session, peakers after speakers called for the reintroduction of levying in schools to assist the government, provision of infrastructures, readmission of teachers into the parents forum, reduction of students in a class for effective monitoring, improved security in schools and prompt medical attention for students when admitted into school clinics and public hospitals.
“We are pleading with the government to bring back disciplines into our schools. Even the Bible supports that disciplines should be meted to children to purge them of truancy. A situation where students go about threatening to report teachers if he/she is beaten is not helping our educational system”, a parent stated at the forum.
Mrs Alabi Adebomi in her own remark stated, “Government will have to reintroduced levy in order for parents to assist with developmental projects like building of block of classrooms because some of our schools are overcrowded”, she appealed.
Mr Omotayo Adeola, while also contributing, called for the reintroduction of levies and prompt attention for students on medical admission.
Alhaji Shittu S.O from Yewa Grammar School and Mr Ogundele from Odogunyan Secondary School complained about poor security in their respective schools and pleaded with the Tutor-General to help speak with the government for improvement.
Some parents in schools like Ayedere Secondary School, Offin Ile Junior Secondary School, Shamsideen Secondary School, Agbede Secondary School and some others also called for improvement of infrastructures in schools, especially where increase in number of students have overstretched existing facilities.
Meanwhile, Funke Omojua, from Keme Balogun Secondary School, Ibeshe, expressed great joy over the intervention of the state government in the development of the school, stating that this has opened the door for improvement of teachers and admission of more students into the school.
