CONTRARY to the criticisms that trailed the new education reform and re-classification of schools in the State of Osun, the state government stated Wednesday that the development was in sync with the Federal Government’s 9-3-4 system of education.
The re-classification exercise grouped schools into elementary (for age six to nine years), medium (for age 10 to 14), and high (for age 15 to 17). However, the Deputy Governor of the state, Titilayo Tomori, said in Lagos Wednesday that the exercise was to address the rot in the system and ensure that out-of-school syndrome ends in Osun.
She regretted that a section of the Osun public had misrepresented “the carefully planned reform programme” as an attempt to Islamise the state. She said: “For those who may not know, the school re-classification exercise is already yielding great dividends in our education system.
“The exercise, in which we put children of the same age group in the same school, is to aid effective deployment of resources and ensure that no child drops out of school between age six to 17.”
Christians in the state had last week and again on Monday protested against the merging of a Girls High School with Boys High School in Osogbo. Nevertheless, Tomori, who is also the Commissioner for Education, explained that the reform process began in 2010 with an assessment programme that “revealed the rot in our education system.”
According to her, “the rot we met on ground in 2010 when we came into office was abysmal and so were the students’ performance in our schools. It was at that period that May/June 2010 examinations results were released and only three per cent of candidates got five credits to gain admission into higher institutions.
“Going round the schools, we discovered that infrastructures have totally decayed, classrooms dilapidated and were all devoid of furniture, even as the environment was not conducive for learning. The appearance of the pupils, especially the elementary school children, was very bad. Some of them came in tattered uniform and some in mufti.
“This spurred us to immediate action and we held an education summit in February this year, which produced a communiqué in which the reform was agreed to reposition the education system. In it we planned to build 170 schools: 100 elementary, 50 middle and 20 high schools.”
Tomori added that the much criticised re-classification exercise started with Osun feeding and health programme, O-meal, to tackle malnutrition among school children.
She explained that “O-meal gives mid-day meals to no fewer than 300,000 kids everyday” and costs the government N14.9 million per day.
“But the outcome is that our children now look healthier and enrolment in school has increased. Absenteeism has totally stopped. Statistics available in the country now tells us that Osun has the highest number of school enrolment.
“But to prevent them from dropping out of school, we have moved children in primary five and six to middle schools, in readiness for secondary education. Those that want to exit from Osun to other states we give Primary Six Certificate. But for those with us, the exercise ensures they remain in school till age 17.”
GUARDIAN

While still basking in the euphoria of my recent admission into the Nigerian Law School for the next Academic Session, I woke up to read the Tuesday, 8th October, 2013 edition of Punch Newspapers and to my utter consternation, I was succinctly captivated by the headline that reads “Christians Protest Merger of Schools by Aregbesola”.
Reading through the position of the Protesters under the aegis of Osun Baptist Conference and the effort of the Government of the State of Osun to douse the ‘tension’ made me feel very sorry for our existence as a Nation and our inability to see any good in our diversity as a people living together under the name Nigeria.
Religions like ethnicity is a real problem in Nigeria simply because we the people wanted it to be and it has remain a constant factor for the myriad of challenges facing us. We have deliberately decided to attack each other when there are absolutely no reasons to. And where there are reasons we are ultimately blindfolded by our imaginative thought with “This religion wants to dominate us” syndrome. The animosity has eaten deep into our fabric so much so that governmental policies which are hitherto geared towards the betterment of all are immediately seen as an attempt to ‘Christianize’ or ‘Islamize’ the polity. And as followers we are so immersed into the quagmire of religious insensitivity so much so that extrication may force an innocent mind to think we cannot live together as one nation under God.
I have argued several times that there should be a separation between the Church (Mosque) and the State. A mixture of both is a beautiful recipe for disaster in public policy making and reaction to such policy. We must learn as a Nation to separate religious matter from core public interest especially in matters of Education. It is very important for our religious fathers and leaders to be dispassionate when it comes to matters of equal benefit for all.
The Missionaries may have founded many of these Schools but as of today they are funded and regulated by government and its agencies on education. It suffices to conclude that while they appear to bear Muslim or Christian names, their religious inclination do not go beyond the name. it is illogical, insensible and a flagrant disregard of the fundamental human rights as guaranteed by the 1999 constitution (as amended) for any Christian group to deny a Muslim kid the opportunity to attend a Christian named Government school simply because she uses Hijab. Conversely, it is lugubrious and repugnant to doctrine of natural justice, equity and good conscience for any Muslim group to seek to deny any Christian kid the chance to seek for public education as guaranteed by the law in a Muslim named government school for the unreasonable reason that she has refused to use Hijab or cover her head. We should not reduce our public schools to grounds of intolerance and hatred.
I attended Ansar-ud-Deen Primary School and I was very privileged to have many Christian friends (girls as at then) who never covered their heads and were never chastised as to why they did not. We sat side by side in class, played, joked, ate, drank, fought, studied and learnt together like all kids would do. It was at Ansar-ud-Deen I learnt “The Lord’s Prayer” and “The Grace” and till date I still can recite them in eloquent manner despite being a devout Muslim. We offered both Islamic Religious Knowledge and Christian Religious Knowledge (BK as it was fondly called then) as it was compulsory for all. The general theme of both subjects as we were taught was to inculcate in us the virtues of being good, spirit of brotherhood, neighborliness, love and respect for differences. We underwent examinations on CRK likewise my colleagues as they did on IRK. I grew up to understand the Christian faith, respect and appreciate of the differences. With my friends, we never cared if A was a Christian or a Muslim; we simply enjoyed our friendship and moved on.
Getting to Lagos State University to study Law offers another perfect example. In my 100level days, it was compulsory for all students to offer Islamic Law irrespective of your religious inclinations. In a class of over 350 students with more than 150 Christians, we all offered Islamic Law in a very interesting and competitive atmosphere. It was a beauty to see Christian and Muslim Law Students’ ‘argue’, share and compare knowledge on the verses of the Quran and Hadith taught in class. My Christian friends quoted verses of the Quran and argued with eloquence and precision during tutorial classes. We were not surprised to that when the results were released the ratio of high marks revealed that Christians had better ratios than Muslims. To add to the beauty, the lecturer-in-charge happens to be a very conscious Muslim and one-time leader of Muslims during his time on campus. We all laughed and joked about the result simply because we knew everyone merited the scores they got.
These are the virtues we grew up with. We learnt that in advancing the course of humanity, we only needed to appreciate the difference, learn and respect one another’s belief in an atmosphere filled with love and certainly not the one being promoted in the Nigeria of today by a Muslim towards a Christian and a Christian towards anything that has to do with Muslims. Our country cannot make any meaningful progress if we refuse to eschew this dangerous intolerance and lack of understanding we are deliberately brewing up every now and then.
Private Schools funded from private purses can continue to promote individual religions as they deem fit but government schools should be a platform of togetherness of all faiths in order to appreciate the differences and promote inter-faith relations. Afterall, government schools irrespective of the names they bear are funded by Tax-payers who are both Christians and Muslims.
We owe the ‘kids’ of today the duty to teach them how to defend, love and respect one another across all ethnic and religious divides after all we are all Nigerians. The government as a matter of urgency should call for dialogue between themselves on one hand and the Christian/Muslim leaders on the other hand on the reason, benefits of the policy and how they intend to keep the ‘beliefs’ of each founders in line with public policy as it demands.
Our diversity should be a blessing geared towards developmental strides for our Nation and not a reason for disintegration. May God bless all our Children and make them great personalities for the benefit of Nigeria and humanity as a whole.
Abdul-Aziz is a prospective Law Student at the Nigerian Law School and tweets at @backarray
DAILY POST
 

State House of Assembly of Osun has extended tenure of caretaker committees across the 30 Local government council areas, including Area council on the request of Governor Rauf Aregbesola.
Reading the letter addressed to the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Najeem Salaam by the state helmsman, where the need for the caretaker executive secretaries to proceed with a view to superintending payment of workers’ salaries before the eid l Kabir Muslim festival was canvassed for, the parliament’s primal inter pares observed that the extension, according to the governor would be halted immediately after the creation of the new local governments.
Speaker Salaam then asserted that the consideration to make the Muslim festival joyous for the local government workers who should get their salaries before the eid l Kabir was a genuine reason to accede to the request of the governor.
According to him: “Changing of signatures and bank processes could constitute a justifiable long process that could delay the workers’ pay, but with the extension of the local government interim management committees, the payment could be effected on time. And we shall still stand on the last screening exercise.
However, the governor has expressed his optimism to create more local governments before this year runs out, and immediately after the creation of new councils, the interim committees would cease to function.”
The Speaker then charged the executive secretaries not to embark on projects that would be abandoned, insisting that the parliament through its oversight functions would be watching the councils with eagle eye.
Signed:
Goke Butika Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker
OSUN DEFENDER

The Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has assured the people of the state that his administration would provide quality and qualitative education that would make them self-reliant upon graduation. The governor gave the assurance while inaugurating Salvation Army Middle School, Osogbo, recently. He said the journey to provide quality education started with the education summit he convened when he assumed office newly as the governor of the state.

“The summit with eminent Nigerians like the Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka in attendance came up with a reform blueprint to overhaul the public education in the state and the government has since been working assiduously to implement the reform plan. The inauguration of this school is a good evidence that all is going according to plan with our reform. As part of the reform, we decided to re-organise the school system into Elementary, Middle and High school categories.
“The elementary level will comprise pupils from ages 6 to 9 years, which corresponds to primary 1 to 4 pupils under the existing system. The middle level from primary 4 to JSS 3 of ages 10 to 14, now classified as Grades 5-9, and the high school level age range will be between 15 and 17 years, corresponding to Senior Secondary School III, to be known as Grades 10-12.
“The elementary and middle school level’s buildings will each accommodate 900 pupils, while the high school building will have capacity for 3,000 students. There will be 100 of such buildings at the elementary, 50 at the middle, and 20 at the high school levels, making a total of 170 and the high schools are a mega structure of minicity size each having three schools in one with facilities for all subjects in the Sciences, Arts and Social Sciences, including state of the art laboratories, recreation centres and a food court.” “The overall aim of the reforms we are carrying out is to develop the new man intellectually, socially and morally. This new man is placed in the centre of society who views his own development as part of and for the development of society, he said.
Aregbesola appealed to parents to support the government in its efforts by preparing their wards for the new system and especially kit them with the new uniform, saying the gains are already coming up as the state is witnessing progressive improvement in the academic performances of the students.
NATIONAL MIRROR

Mrs Titilayo Laoye-Tomori, the Deputy Governor of the State of Osun on Tuesday called for continuous support for old people in efforts to improve their mental health and promote their healthy living.
Laoye-Tomori made the call in Osogbo at a public lecture on “Mental Health for Older Adults’’, organised as part of the events lined up to mark the World Mental Day.
“The all-inclusive action plan of Gov. Rauf Aregbesola has indeed, addressed the mental health of older adults.
“Over 50 mentally challenged individuals have received treatment in the state; their health has been restored via the scheme introduced by the state government.
“We spent N17 million on the scheme introduced for older adults who are working.
“The Agba Osun Scheme and the Financial Social Welfare Scheme were both introduced to support and cater for older adults,’’ she said.
Laoye-Tomori, however, advised elderly people to obtain forms for health care services in the state government hospitals. (NAN)
 

Media practitioners in Nigeria have been charged to imbibe the practice that promotes peace and unity of the country in the discharge of their duty.
They were also urged to shun sensationalism, personal interest and reports that are capable of causing conflict or escalate it.
Speakers, which include the State of Osun Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Sunday Akere, Director General, Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), Dr. Joseph Owah, Representative of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Mr. Mathew Alao, Vice President, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Zone G, Mr. Bamidele Atunbi and the Zonal Director South- West, Nigeria Broadcasting Commission, Mr. Ojone Ofonoku gave the charge at a workshop/capacity building on Conflict Sensitive Reporting and Good Governance in Nigeria.
At the workshop held at Royal Park International Hotel, Iloko- Ijesha, Osun State, organised by the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution in collaboration with the United Nation Development Programme, the speakers asserted that there is the need for journalists to be mindful of the interest of the country and be conflict sensitive in their reportage.
Noting that this is the only way by which peace and unity can be promoted in the country, they unanimously tasked the media practitioners to engage in reports that can promote peace and shun that which is capable of promoting conflict and discord.
The speakers who further spoke on good governance, tasked Nigerian journalists to do more of good governance advocacy in their reportage, stressing that this will assist in sensitizing government at all level to be alive to their responsibilities.
The State of Osun commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Akere who declared the workshop open, charged journalists to always promote issues that will unite the country and not that which will divide it and that they should be mindful of languages as what they write will make or mar the country.
Akere, who further charged that media practitioners should work in the interest of the nation and not that of a particular person or region, also tasked them not to assist the prophets of doom in the accomplishment of their predictions, saying such will not do the nation any good.
His words, “The media should look at things that unite the country and not that which divides it, we should sing the song of peace and not crisis. We should mind our language, what we write… as this may make or mar our corporate existence.
Please work in the interest of the nation and not that of a particular person, do not assist the prophets of doom in making their predictions come to pass”.
The IPCR boss, Dr. Owah in his opening address noted that the media in Nigeria has the capacity to create and resolve conflict, adding that it seems it has created more conflict than resolving it.
Stating that this informed the resolve of both UNDP and IPCR to organise the capacity building workshop, the UNDP boss said this will ensure a change in the way the media in the country works and promote conflict sensitive reporting.
“It is important as media practitioners to understand between publicity and cheap popularity, most times when you do not bother to look for the fact of a story, therefore you create more damage than resolving it”, Dr. Owah remarked.
In his own contribution, the UNDP representative, Mr. Alao emphasised that journalists are likely to promote conflict itself rather than minimizing it if they are not conflict sensitive in their reportage, adding that it forms the reason UNDP is committed to the training of journalists on how to do their work in order to promote peace in the country.
Alao disclosed that the UNDP will soon organised a peace summit where stakeholders will brainstorm on how to ensure that conflict is minimized in the country, adding that the agency is doing everything possible to ensure all stakeholders join in the peace process.
The NUJ Vice President Zone G, Mr. Atunbi remarked that conflict occurred on daily basis either domestically or nationally, but noted that its management has always been the major challenge.
He stated that the position of the NUJ on conflict resolution has always been fairness on the part of all and sundry, while asking if government at all level have been fair .
Talking about good governance, he said, “we must talk about development, we must take a critical look at how the wealth and resources of the country are being distributed and its fairness to the people”.
As a media practitioner, the NUJ chieftain maintained that journalists must be objective in their reportage, saying the absence of this will create conflict.
According to him, media practitioners have the social responsibility to protect the interest of the nation and must de-emphasise that which will divide the country in their reportage.
The firebrand unionist and activist who was critical about the country’s 1999 constitution, called for the abrogation of section 22, saying it hinders the workability of chapter 2, noting that it prevents media practitioners to sue their employers while occupying public positions.
Speaking in the same vein, the NBC South-West Zonal Director Mrs. Ofonoku noted that conflict is being magnified through the manner in which headlines are cast, stressing that this further escalate rather than minimize the situation.
While describing the workshop as timely, she applauded the organisers for their efforts at ensuring the promotion and advocacy of good governance in Nigeria and conflict sensitive reporting, saying they all catalyze to peace and better society.
THE NIGERIAN OBSERVER

ORGANISERS of the Town and Gown gig have promised to make the event a lasting experience in the minds of sports men and women, supporters and fun seekers who will attend Obafemi Awolowo University for the NUGA Games.
Several artistes have been penciled to perform at the concert. They include Alhaji Kollington Ayinla, Queen Salawa Abeni, Edris Abdulkarim, Lord of Ajasa, Igi Nla, Kanja, Faycol, King Wadada, and Omoluabi and others.
“Our major preoccupation now is the task of working on the long list of artistes that have shown interest. Aside from that, we are also working assiduously to ensure that no interest is left un-catered for. It is sure that Gbenga Adeyinka the 1st, an honorary NUGA medalist, will lead the anchor team. Hafiz Oyetoro (Saka), OAU NUGA ambassador and other MCs will also grace the show,” the event’s spokesman, Bayo Bankole, aka Boy Alinco, said.
Town & Gown Gigs is the sandwich premium musical show that will serve as a buffer, providing social atmosphere around the 2013 NUGA Games. The event will hold at the open arena of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, State of Osun. It will parade state-of-the-art technical equipment such as hydraulic twin-mobile stage, array of creative lighting, pyro effects with ground supports to hoist colours, including LED screens to flank the stage to cushion the serenity and rhythmic echoes from 120,000 watts of sound.
Bankole said, “and to cap it all, a range of food and assorted drinks created by corporate sponsors will wet the appetite of fun seekers. This is an opportunity for brands to cash-in on this memorable event.”
THE GUARDIAN

The State of Osun recorded 20 per cent oversubscription on its Sukuk bond, despite the recent “bearishness” of the money market, driven by high interbank rates and liquidity challenges.
The money and capital market trends were sequel to the policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), due to the increase in cash reserve requirements on government deposits targeted at achieving foreign exchange stability.
The associated liquidity challenge was worsened by the need for the bidders to mop up funds and pay for the power assets acquired under the privatization exercise.
According to the state’s Commissioner for Finance, Dr. Wale Bolorunduro “raising fund under this condition is like drinking water from fire-hose, the changes in the market are too rapid, but Osun can do it.”
The Osun sukuk bond was approved by the Securities Exchange Commission in line with the approval, the state has commenced the process of book-building and request for investors to submit their subscriptions on the N10 billion bond.
The state will however access only N11.4 billion, which has been ring-fenced to build the “state of art” schools.
The new elementary schools have capacity for 900 students per school, the middle schools for 1,000 students per school; while the high schools have capacity for 3,000 students per school. The high school is a mini-campus with three schools in one mini-campus.
“With these schools, the state is ramping up its educational renaissance programmes to return the state to the fore-front of academic excellence. The brand-new schools will create stimulating environments conducive for learning and complement other school programmes such as feeding programme for elementary schools, Opon Imo (Tablet computers) for high schools, free uniforms for all students and its reclassification programme to optimize and re-align its resources.
The oversubscription of the sukuk bond is a positive confirmation of the trust and confidence, the market placed on Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola who has brought prudence, purpose and performance to government”, Bolorunduro said.
THE GUARDIAN