from sunnewspaper.com
New Robes For Ekiti Schools As Govt Embarks On Operation Renovate All Schools
Renovatedd Corpus Christi College, Ilawe-Ekiti
They sat around in groups, their faces a palpable picture of
downright disbelief, enthusing about the incredible transformation that
had taken place in their school. Some others loitered here and there,
idling about in ones and twos, conversing in soft, measured tones. They
were students of Ola Oluwa Muslim Grammar School, one of the first
generation secondary schools situated along Ilawe Road in Ado-Ekiti, the
Ekiti State capital.
On Monday, October 2, students of public primary and secondary
schools resumed across Ekiti State for the 2012/2013 academic session.
While a few of the students went about their normal duties, many were
those that could not hide their excitement as they stared, with mouths
agape, at the changes that their schools had undergone during the
eight-week school break.
“When we came back from the long vacation, we were surprised that our
school had been totally transformed,” Adebayo Ojo, a Form Two student
of the school, informed the reporter last week. “Although we had been
told that the government would renovate our school, we are still
surprised at the way they have touched everything here. We are very,
very happy. Even though somebody had told me during the break that our
school was being renovated, I did not know that it was something of this
nature. We are very happy with Governor Fayemi. We have been praying
for him and we are also assuring him that we will not do anything to
damage the new facilities here.”
Ojo is not alone; neither are the prayers and the excitement
restricted to the Ado-Ekiti based school. In many towns and villages in
the three senatorial districts in Ekiti State, not a few are those that
daily go on bended knees to seek divine blessings for the state
governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi over the renovations that his administration
is carrying out in the state-owned schools.
In truth, hardly will you resist the urge to join the applauding
crowd, unless you’re ignorant of the pitiable state of public schools in
Ekiti before Fayemi’s intervention.
Along Ilawe Road in Ado-Ekiti, a new Ola Oluwa Grammar School smiles
at you. The school wears a refreshing robe, with its new and renovated
buildings radiating in yellow and red even as the red aluminium roofing
sparkles in the afternoon sun.
Ten kilometres away, at the Corpus Christi College, Ilawe-Ekiti, a
similar situation obtains. From the road, the school buildings look
palatial, covered by a neat line of gangling trees, with the smiles on
the pupils’ faces betraying the joy in their souls.
In Ijero, Ilejemeje, Moba, Ise, Ido-Osi and all the local government
areas in Ekiti, many schools are wearing new looks, as the government
concludes the first phase of the Operation Renovate All Schools in Ekiti
(ORASE) scheme, an initiative of the Kayode Fayemi administration.
Right now in Ekiti, public schools are undergoing massive renovation.
Of the 183 public secondary schools in the state, about 100 have just
been renovated under the ORASE scheme. The remaining 83 have been
scheduled to benefit from the programme during the first term holidays
in December.
Yet, just a few weeks back, most schools in the state were in a sorry
state. The buildings were dilapidated, while many of the roofs had
already caved in. Many classrooms had neither doors nor windows, and
water flooded the classrooms and staff rooms at the slightest drop of
rain. Naturally, coming from such decayed environment, many students
recorded abysmal grades in the local examinations as well as in the
national SSCE and NECO examinations. A state that had always prided
itself as one inhabited by a people of high intellect with a passion for
scholarship suddenly metamorphosed into an abode of half-baked, barely
literate men and women.
When Fayemi mounted the saddle as governor two years ago, the
activist-politician wasted no time before convening an education summit
in the state. Various experts and stakeholders converged on the state
capital to ruminate over and propose solutions to the crisis that had
enveloped the education sector in the state once celebrated for its
knack for academic excellence. Over the years, education in the place
nicknamed the Fountain of Knowledge had been buffeted by a surfeit of
problems. Participants at the summit came up with a number of
recommendations to upgrade the quality of basic, secondary and tertiary
education in the state.
According to the experts, one of the major causes of the woes in the
secondary education system in Ekiti was the dilapidated infrastructure
in public schools. The summit noted that excellence had taken a flight
from the public school system since the schools lacked good buildings,
access roads, functional libraries and laboratories and other basic
amenities. The summit recommended that the government should embark on a
number of projects and processes, including the renovation of existing
structures, perimeter fencing of schools, rehabilitation of
access/intra-premises road network, employment of retired, seasoned
teachers as neighbourhood inspectors and in-service training, seminars
and conferences for school teachers.
No sooner was the summit concluded than Fayemi commenced implementing
the recommendations with a view to permanently arresting the rot in the
secondary education system. The renovation of schools could not
commence immediately though, as the schools were in session. But as soon
as students went on holidays in July, Fayemi flagged off the Operation
Renovate All Schools in Ekiti (ORASE), and massive rehabilitation work
started in 100 of the 183 schools.
“Yes, we are very educated, but we lack skills,” Fayemi said in an
interview at the Government House in Ado-Ekiti. “The people we’re
producing from our university system, yes, they carry the paper degree
and the certificate, but they cannot function in the work environment
competently. These are challenges that are long-term, that our people do
not see in the immediate, but that we must address. For me, leadership
is about that. Leadership is not just about physical projects that
people can see now. It is what we make of those physical projects.”
At the flag-off of the programme, Fayemi had declared: “Our resolve
to ensure that this impartation of functional educational is done under a
conducive atmosphere informed the Operation Renovation All Schools in
Ekiti (ORASE). We cannot afford to live on past glory or allow our
education system to continue to produce half baked products neither good
for higher education nor for job creation and wealth generation which
are our focus.”
Under ORASE, government set aside the sum of N2.2 billion for the
renovation of the schools even as contracts for their renovation were
awarded to competent firms. The government also set up a Bureau of
Special Projects in the Office of the Governor, headed by a Special
Adviser, Mr. Bayo Kelekun. The contractors were directed to hand over
the renovated schools before the commencement of the new academic
calendar in September.
They were mandated to pull down the ramshackle school buildings and
replace them with new ones. They were to also cover the buildings with
new, state-of-the-art aluminium roofs. To ensure compliance with
government specifications, Fayemi traversed the entire state, inspecting
the handiwork of the contractors.
At Ola-Oluwa, the contractors were putting finishing touches to the buildings when
The Sun team
called. The project manager, Mr. Akeem Momodu, said his firm’s mandate
was to deliver 24 totally renovated schools in Ekiti Central Senatorial
District to the state government. The schools being renovated by his
company were virtually ready, he said.
“As you can see, the job is 80 per cent completed. We are rounding
off on the issue of aluminium roofing and the rest. We’re putting
windows and doors and painting the rooms.”
Besides
renovating schools, the governor also came up with the idea of putting a
laptop on the desk of every child in the state. When he mooted the
idea, not a few people were unconvinced. Many were even suspicious of
the governor’s intentions. But Fayemi, a product of the esteemed
Christ’s School located in the state capital, was determined. He said by
2014, no fewer than 100, 000 children would have benefitted from the
computers. Already, 33, 000 laptops have been distributed free of charge
to students. The governor said the importance of the distribution of
the laptops could not be exaggerated, saying they would assist the
students get introduced to the modern trends in information technology.
“The laptop initiative is not an end in itself,” the governor
explained. “It’s a means to a better end in which our children would be
competing in a world that they do not make, in a world in which the
children that they are dealing with globally are also playing in that
field or in a much more sophisticated field. And we started this before
WAEC introduced ICT into the curriculum, which is now a compulsory
subject. If you want to do some national exams now, you must do it
online, via the computer. So, it’s like we anticipated this.”
By TOPE ADEBOBOYE
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Besides
renovating schools, the governor also came up with the idea of putting a
laptop on the desk of every child in the state. When he mooted the
idea, not a few people were unconvinced. Many were even suspicious of
the governor’s intentions. But Fayemi, a product of the esteemed
Christ’s School located in the state capital, was determined. He said by
2014, no fewer than 100, 000 children would have benefitted from the
computers. Already, 33, 000 laptops have been distributed free of charge
to students. The governor said the importance of the distribution of
the laptops could not be exaggerated, saying they would assist the
students get introduced to the modern trends in information technology.
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1 comments:
Personally, I think the 1st big issue is TRUST. Do we trust that the government will do what they say they will do? Did the NLC really take cognisance of the peoples' views or were they bought over? This strike thing and the way it has played out has become a recurring act for each government desiring a price increase in fuel: take it up, strike, bring it slightly lower! Was it subsidy removal or just increase of fuel price?
The second is SURVIVAL. How will the average Nigerian fare, considering that there is no salary increase, yet the fuel increase has a ripple effect on all areas of his/her life, increasing his cost of living by at least 40%? Before now, I use N3500 to fill my tank. Now it costs me N5000. The prices of everything in the market has gone up, even childrens'school fees! The only people who seem like they would not feel the pinch are the politicians, enjoying very fat allowances from the government (actually, the people's) money.
The third issue is EMASCULATION. We were just told by the SSS & the Police IG (on Channels tv interview of 16th Jan) part of what constitutes treason. To my surprise, calling a president names is one of them. Military personnel with armoured tanks and guns on the streets forcefully stopping from engaging in a peaceful protest were said to be 'maintaining the peace & security' of the nation. Its rather ironic. It is infuriating and believe me, that's putting it mildly. These were the same people who were invited to dance and cheer on those same streets to support and vote ing the mandate of this present government. It hurts if a person you place your hope in betrays that trust.
There are other issues. I believe though, that the above-listed three throws a man into a state of 'retreat, ruminate, react'.
God help Nigeria