With effect from next academic session, the recommendations of the Education Review White Paper on the restructuring and remodification of some extant education policies will be implemented by the State Government of Osun.
The decision taken by the State Executive Council was disclosed through a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation, Mrs. Funke Egbemode.
It would be recalled that the Professor Olu Aina-led Committee was set up by Governor Adegboyega Oyetola to essentially review the extant education policies in the State vis-a-vis citizens’ needs and compatibility with current socio-structural realities.
Egbemode, in announcing the position of the government, said the recommendations in the White Paper highlight key areas in which the Ministry of Education and stakeholders in the sector will strengthen their approaches towards achieving greater effectiveness and producing measurable learning outcomes for students.
In her words: “Following proper consultation with stakeholders on education across the State, the State Government has approved the recommendations in the White Paper with respect to improving the system’s functionality, for implementation.
“The implementation takes effect from the beginning of the new academic year”, she said.
While explaining the scope of the implementation, Egbemode said that the new academic session will see the schools in the state adopting the national 6-3-3-4 education system as against the old 4-5-3-4.
She continued: “Other policies to be implemented include each school in the state resuming the use of their original school uniforms instead of the single uniform regime that has been in place . This, according to stakeholders, is critical to the restoration of a sense of identity in students, and also to check the spate of indiscipline and truancy in our schools.
“Also, single-gender schools that were changed to mixed schools shall return to the old orders, while schools’ nomenclatures shall also return to the names they used to bear”, Egbemode explained.
Egbemode assured that the government would ensure that the recommendations are credibly implemented in order to derive gains from the policies, adding that “Governor Adegboyega Oyetola is committed to ensuring quality education across the State in line with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, because an educated citizenry will assure a State of Osun with a greater future than its present. The steps taken by the Oyetola administration are strictly to build a better tomorrow for our children and ensure a state that will stand tall in Nigeria”.
In another development, the State Government has concluded the approval of the appointment of three Traditional Rulers.
It was disclosed that the State Executive Council approved the appointments of Prince Benjamin Ajibade Abiona as Onila of Ila Odo in Odo Otin North Local Council Development Area; Prince Adebayo Adesuyi Joseph as Apaula of Ipaula Ijesha, in Atakumosa East Local Government Area and Prince Adewunmi Ogidiolup as Oniwoye of Iwoye Ijesha, in Oriade Local Government Area.
