10th January, 2022
By Oluwaseyi Oduneye-Ogunwomoju
Oyo State Government has expressed disappointment at the low turnout of students in public schools across the state, as they resumed for the 2021/2022 second term academic activities on Monday.
Chairman of State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Dr Nureni Adeniran, made this known while monitoring the resumption of pupils in some primary schools within Ibadan metropolis.
The SUBEB chairman visited some schools in Ido, Ibadan North, Ibadan South-West and Ibadan North-West local government areas.
Adeniran was joined on the monitoring of the schools by other members of the board.
The team observed that while some public schools in the council areas visited had teachers on the ground, many pupils had yet to resume for academic activities.
“There are some schools where we did not meet substantial number of students in classes.
“We are using this opportunity to appeal to parents to release their children and wards to resume for normal academic activities, which have commenced immediately,” he said.
According to him, it is part of the state government’s education policy that headteachers and teachers hold pre-resumption meetings before commencement of academic activities.
Adeniran, therefore, frowned at some schools holding such meetings during school hours, at the detriment of the pupils who were ready for academic activities.
While warning headteachers to desist from such act, he urged them to monitor the activities of teachers and pupils in their respective schools.
The SUBEB chairman urged heads of public schools to commence academic activities immediately and ensure that all COVID-19 protocols were strictly adhered to in their schools.
He noted that early commencement of academic activities would enable the schools in the state to cover their syllabus, adding that it would also help with quality and standard learning.
“Henceforth, teachers should comply with all COVID-19 protocols. They should use facemasks and provide water and soap in their schools,” he said.