The Oyo Global Forum has expressed deep shock over the recent rebellious activities portrayed by secondary school students of Oyo State. According to report, students went on a rampage in the ancient town of Oyo and burnt down school buildings, beat up their teachers and truncated the peaceful activities of the city in October, 2016.
Reacting to the menace, the progressive groups of Oyo indigenes who have gone through schools in the state have issued a statement condemning the act and also preferring a workable modality to save the youths from the clutches of decay and disintegration.
The Commissioner for Education, Adeniyi Olowofela, on Thursday announced the closure which affected Anglican-Methodist Secondary School and Oba Adeyemi High School in Oyo East LGA; Isale Oyo Community High School in Atiba LGA; and Community Secondary School, Iyana Idi-Ose, and Ojoo High School in Akinyele LGA.
Early Thursday, classrooms and other facilities were set ablaze by the by irate students at Isale-Oyo community, a very ugly phase of the unrest.
At Oba Adeyemi High School, on Tuesday, students, armed with weapons, attacked their teachers, destroyed vehicles and school facilities with the aid of non-students, different persons who went to the school and witnessed the violence told PREMIUM TIMES.
They were said to have unleashed the violence just after they received their report cards and saw the trend of failure. One person, a non-student, who sustained injury in the course of the violence died on Wednesday.
Students of Anglican secondary school unleashed mayhem on their teachers and destroyed billboards bearing Governor Abiola Ajimobi’s picture on Monday.
But despite the government’s decision to close five schools and warn against further violence, students of Ladigbolu Grammar School in Oyo attacked their school Friday morning, pulling down part of the fence.
In another attack, Oke Olola Community School in Atiba LGA was set on fire late Friday.
“A block was burnt beyond redemption,” a resident and former student of the school, Opeyemi Rasaq, said.
The Oyo State Government set a new promotion policy which meant only students with 50 per cent in Mathematics and English language would transit to the next class. The pass mark was previously 35 per cent. But with the new policy, mass failure to promote to higher classes followed as consequence which suggested that many had been getting promotions because of the low standard required to transit previously.
Students, just receiving their report cards six weeks into the new session, which they resumed weeks after writing the last promotion exams, alleged that the government made the new promotion policy to “deliberately punish” them after some of them joined their teachers to oppose proposed public private partnership policy on education.
On June 6, students of some schools in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, embarked on anti-Ajimobi protest, resisting the PPP plan.
But the Education Commissioner, Mr. Olowofela, said the promotion criteria was not newly made. He said it was same as “No Automatic Promotion” policy contained in a circular sent to education stakeholders in the state on April 23.
“Records available from WAEC showed that from 1999 to 2015, over fifty thousand students had failed to get five (5) credits, including English and Mathematics each year.
“The abysmal failure necessitated government to set up an educational reform committee. The report had since been submitted and the white paper has been approved by the State Executive Council and is awaiting full implementation,” the commissioner said.
With the old promotion criteria, he said students had developed a sense of laxity, the don said.
“The rationale for the stoppage of old policy of automatic promotion in public schools include the fact that the system denied the schools the ability to truly and rigorously prepare our students for external examination of bodies like the West African Examination Council (WAEC), National Examination Council (NECO) and JAMB
Read the statement below;
Oyo Global Forum is deeply shocked by the nefarious acts of some secondary school students who burnt down schools buildings, beat teachers and threaten the peace of Oyo town, in reaction to the new government policy increasing the pass mark for promotion from 30% to 50 % in 5 subjects. One person was reported dead and lots of properties were destroyed. Some of the schools affected are Anglican-Methodist school, Isale Oyo Community High School, Oke Olola Community secondary school and Olivet Baptist High school.
Oyo Global Forum hereby frowns at and condemns the barbarity of the students.
The action of the students further confirms in strong terms the consequences of drug abuse within the town which is not only growing rampant but sadly untended to and the depreciated value of our educational system.
To this end, We have organised an emergency town hall meeting with relevant stakeholders to discuss the ravaging effect of drug abuse on our society and fashion out workable solutions to strengthen and upscale the educational system.
The meeting shall be held at the prestigious Atiba Hall Of Oyo town on 6th November 2016 by 2pm and co- chaired by Prof Olowofela, the honourable commissioner of Education and a former speaker of Oyo state and Oyo indigent , Rt. Hon. Kehinde Ayoola.
The meeting shall also provide an avenue for a new member to have interactions with the forums stalwarts and join the forum.
We implore us all to make time to attend this important event.
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