WE WILL COME UP WITH DELIBERATE POLICY TO ASSIST LESS PRIVILEGED CHILDREN ACQUIRE BASIC EDUCATION; ONDO COMMISSIONER

 

The Ondo State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mr Olaolu Akindolire says the state government would come up with a deliberate policy to assist indigent and less privileged children in the state acquire basic education.

The Commissioner while receiving the traditional council of Olu-Ijoka in Akure South Local Government area of the state emphasized that lack of basic education among the children portends serious threat to the country both now and in the future.

The Education Commissioner identified high level of illiteracy due to lack of basic primary and secondary education as mainly responsible for the pockets of insurgence and other criminal acts in different parts of Nigeria, adding that government can no longer feign ignorance of the danger such situation portends.

He said the intent of the Ondo State Government was to provide for the residents a holistic and all-encompassing education, including basic skills acquisition that can make the young ones self-reliant and disabuse their minds of criminal tendencies.

Mr. Akindolire attributed the relative peace and non-existence of insurgence in the southwest to the high level of education, stressing that neglected and uneducated children might be easily lured into insurgency and other crimes against humanity.

He urged every adult in the state to always show concern about any child of school age that is on the street or at home during school hours and find out the reason why he/she is out of school with a view to helping such child back to school.

According to him, the policy might include granting some concessions to under-priviledged children and assisting them in their basic educational needs to keep them in school with their counterparts.

The Commissioner told the traditional ruler that the state government was working towards ensuring that every resident of the state has access to basic and qualitative education where they live, work or play.

The Olu-Ijoka Council led by the traditional ruler of the community, Oba Oluwalade Ejide was at the office of the Commissioner to seek the understanding of the state government in registering and taking over the administration of the only secondary school in the community.

The traditional ruler said the secondary school was built some years ago through communal efforts to address some basic needs of residents of the community and reduce the pains of their children walking over seven kilometres everyday to the nearest secondary school.

He also hinted the Commissioner that students of the school were finding it difficult to register for external examinations as it was becoming puzzling to classified it either as public or private school.

The Commissioner lauded the efforts of the community and advised the Olu-Ijoka in council to come up with a letter stating their demands, assuring them that government would passionately look into it with a view to taking appropriate decisions.