The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi (Ojaja II), has called on government to return public schools to their original owners.
Lamenting the level of decay in the school system in the country, the monarch said taking the schools off the hands of the government would allow stakeholders, including alumni associations to contribute fully towards the development of the institutions.
Ogunwusi spoke on Saturday, during the inauguration of projects worth N50 million at the St. John Grammar School, Ile-Ife, in Osun, executed by members of the St. John Old Boy’s Association (SJOBA).
He bemoaned the fact that great structures left behind by their founders, mostly Churches and clergymen, had deteriorated due to lack of proper maintenance.
Therefore, he said government should “allow real owners, especially alumni of our schools, to take charge in order to restore the glory of our education sector.
“They know better because they have been through the system and are in the best position to effect the required changes towards prosperity.
“Look at the projects we’re inaugurating today; we’re talking of projects worth N50 million. It will take the government a longer period to do something like this.
“That is if they even find it necessary in the first place because of the large number of important demands competing for government’s limited resources.”
Speaking at the occasion, the Osun State Governor, Gboyega Oyetola, commended members of the SJOBA for the projects which he said were of high quality.
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The projects included a gate and a fence worth N18 million, a full-size bronze statue of the founder, Rev. Father Fabian Cloutier, worth N5.1 million, modern toilets constructed at the cost of N12.5 million, library renovation which cost N5 million, and the renovation of two blocks of classroom which cost N15 million.
“The projects were well thought out to address the all-round needs of the school,” the governor added.
Oyetola, who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Dr. Charles Akinola, noted that old school associations remained critical partners in revolutionising and transforming schools.
He said his government was working out reforms that involved proactive steps, to address lingering issues in all sectors, adding; “The education sector tops this initiative. Shortly after assuming office, we commenced the revitalisation of schools across the state with renovation of buildings, provision of books and educational materials/teaching aids and training and re-training of teachers.
“We also placed emphasis on vocational and technical education to check unemployment and make our youths job creators and entrepreneurs.”
In his own remarks, the SJOBA President, Dr. Festus Oshoba, explained that the old stufents were motivated by the rare gesture of the school’s founder, Rev. Father Fabian Cloutier, a Canadian Catholic Priest, who took his share of his family inheritance to build the school in 1962.
He, on behalf of the Old Boys requested a partnership with the state government “where the management of the school is substantially under the auspices of the Catholic Church and SJOBA.”
Oshoba said further: “We also request that the state government should assist us in getting the school accredited for the COMPUTER BASED TEST (CBT) by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), in view of the abundant facilities at the school.”
