The governorship candidate of the Accord Party (AP) in Oyo State, Chief Bayo Adelabu, has decried the parlous state of education in the state under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) administration of Governor Seyi Makinde.
Adelabu was reacting to the protest embarked upon by the students of The Polytechnic, Ibadan that paralysed activities in the institution on Monday January 9.
The students had embarked on protest against the increment in Refusal Fee from N5, 000 to N15, 000. The practice at the institution is that fresh and returning students pay N30, 000 for accommodation and a Refusal Fee of N5, 000 which was arbitrarily increased to N15, 000.
The students are also protesting against the continued interference in the management of the school with the introduction of Platinum Consultant to manage its affairs.
The students noted that the handling of the revenue activities of the institution by the Consultant has rendered the Board of the polytechnic redundant as they have been rendered powerless.
According to the students, the consultant authorise the hike without any notice to students. While reacting through the media office of the Bayo Adelabu Campaign Organisation (BACO), the AP governorship candidate expressed sadness over what had become of education in the state, from primary to tertiary schools, under Makinde. He recalled that Oyo State occupied 33rd position on the current WAEC ratings owing to the lacklustre performance of Makinde in education.
Adelabu also stated that it was unfortunate that over 50 secondary schools were delisted by WAEC over incidences of examination malpractices, which were rife under the watch of the present administration.
He stated that the state government had stopped giving running grants to schools since three years ago on the excuse that secondary school principals did not give account in 2020.
Adelabu noted that this has led to schools being unable to provide basic educational material needs of teachers and students in the course of teaching and learning.
The governorship candidate assured the students and the people of state of his determination to give priority to education at all levels if elected.
