The Chairman of the Oyo State Committee on Participatory Management of Schools, Prof. Adeniyi Gbadegesin, has said the committee’s findings have validated Governor Abiola Ajimobi’s decision to pursue reforms aimed at rescuing the state’s deteriorating public education system.
Gbadegesin, who spoke with journalists on the committee’s observations and recommendations submitted to the governor, said its findings revealed serious challenges across the state’s public schools and underscored the need for greater participation by stakeholders.
According to him, the committee’s report was comprehensive and showed that government could not single-handedly address all the problems confronting the education sector.
“The report by the committee is a comprehensive one, which vindicates the executive governor’s bid to reform the education sector.
The report shows that the state’s public schools are in a sorry state, and government cannot do it alone, hence the need to collaborate with relevant stakeholders to redeem the education sector,” he said.
The university don said the education sector required urgent and comprehensive intervention, particularly through a participatory approach involving government, teachers, parents, communities and private organisations.
Gbadegesin disclosed that the committee discovered significant discrepancies in available education data, as well as an uneven distribution of teachers and students across schools.
“We found out that there are data discrepancies about education in Oyo State. Also, there is a mismatch of teachers and students. In essence, the teacher-student ratio is not evenly distributed,” he said.
He explained that the committee encountered schools where teachers were either absent or inadequate, while some schools had excess furniture but insufficient numbers of pupils.
“In some schools, there were overpopulation of students,” he added, pointing to the wide disparities in infrastructure, staffing and enrolment across different schools.
Gbadegesin also expressed concern over the changing roles of school administrators, noting that some vice principals no longer taught classes.
“We were surprised that some vice principals do not teach anymore, whereas, in those days, even principals had subjects they were teaching. There is need to improve the standard of education in the state,” he said.
According to him, there was already evidence of private and community participation in the management and support of schools through old students’ associations, Parent-Teacher Associations, philanthropic organisations and international funding bodies.
He said such partnerships should be strengthened through a formal framework that would allow private stakeholders to contribute more effectively to the development of public schools.
“What the government needs to do is to provide a formal structure and an enabling environment for private participation in school management,” Gbadegesin explained.
He urged parents, teachers and other stakeholders to support the state government’s efforts to restore what he described as the lost glory of Oyo State’s education sector.
Gbadegesin said the 31-member committee was established to investigate the condition of public education in the state, consult widely with stakeholders and recommend practical solutions capable of improving the overall standard of education.
He noted that the committee was also expected to identify workable options that could reverse the decline in the sector and restore Oyo State’s position among leading states in educational development.
As part of its assignment, the committee reviewed the existing condition and standard of education in the state and visited 29 secondary schools across urban, semi-urban and rural communities within the eight education zones.
The committee also held interactive sessions with selected individuals and organisations that submitted memoranda, according to its chairman.
Gbadegesin said the extensive consultations provided an opportunity for stakeholders to express their concerns and contribute ideas towards addressing the challenges confronting the sector.
It would be recalled that Governor Abiola Ajimobi inaugurated the 31-member committee on July 12, 2016, with Gbadegesin, then Vice-Chancellor of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, as chairman.
The committee was mandated to examine the deteriorating condition of public schools and make recommendations for repositioning the education sector in the state.
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