The Osun State Government has dismissed allegations by the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, that public primary and secondary schools in the state are collapsing or facing shutdown due to a shortage of teachers and basic facilities, insisting that no school will be closed under Governor Ademola Adeleke.
The Chairman of the Osun State Teaching Service Commission, Temitope Mustapha, made the clarification on Friday in Osogbo during a one-day workshop for members of the state’s Timetable Committee.
Mustapha said education remains a priority of the present administration, stressing that both urban and rural schools are being strengthened rather than neglected.
He said claims that rural schools are shutting down were false, adding that such narratives were being spread by “enemies of progress.”
“No school is going into extinction in Osun State. Our students in rural areas performed excellently in NECO and WASSCE, which helped the state move from 30th to 7th position nationally.
“The insinuation that rural schools are closing down is false. Under Governor Ademola Adeleke’s administration, no such thing has happened, and it will not happen,” he said.
Mustapha disclosed that newly recruited teachers have already been deployed to rural areas to bridge manpower gaps and improve teaching quality across the state.
He also cautioned school timetable officers to take their responsibilities seriously, describing them as key to effective academic planning.
“Every teacher, except principals and vice principals, must be placed on 24 periods per week,” he added.
The clarification comes amid criticism from the opposition.
The director-general of the All Progressives Congress Campaign Committee for the Osun August 15 governorship election, Wole Oke, had alleged that state resources had been mismanaged over the last three and a half years.
Oke also claimed that public schools were deteriorating, saying government schools lacked buildings and teachers and that many children were no longer attending public schools.
Packaged by Lanre Olabisi
