Fayemi threatens arrest of parents of students hawking during school hours

The Ekiti State governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has asked parents in the state to take advantage of the free education policy of his administration to reduce the number of out-of-school children. Fayemi warned that henceforth, government would arrest the parents of pupils found hawking during school hours. Speaking in Ado Ekiti at an Education Stakeholders’ […]

The Ekiti State governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has asked parents in the state to take advantage of the free education policy of his administration to reduce the number of out-of-school children.

Fayemi warned that henceforth, government would arrest the parents of pupils found hawking during school hours.

Speaking in Ado Ekiti at an Education Stakeholders’ meeting at the Conference Hall of the Governor’s office in Ado-Ekiti yesterday, the Governor said all hands must be on deck to checkmate the declining school enrolment rate in the state so that the state’s slogan, ‘Fountain of Knowledge’, did not become an exaggeration.

He lamented at the meeting, which was well attended by all stakeholders in the education sector, that many parents were yet to take full advantage of the free and qualitative education policy of the administration.

The governor said the current school enrolment rate of 55 per cent as against 96 per cent recorded in 2014 was unacceptable to his government, adding that something must be done urgently to reverse the “ugly” trend.

According to a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Yinka Oyebode, Dr Fayemi also disclosed that government had started compiling the records of retired teachers with a view to determining available vacancies in the teaching service.

He added that his administration would soon commence recruitment of competent and qualified teachers to raise the standard of education in the state.

He also disclosed that the administration had commenced the process of returning mission schools to their original owners, but stressed that government would continue to monitor them to ensure that standard did not decline.

The representative of the state chapter of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, Mr Babatunde Abegunde, said the abrogation of education levies had taken off the burden of debts of school fees from parents, adding that many parents could not afford to pay their children’s school fees as salaries were not regular.

Abegunde urged Gov Fayemi to look into the issue of multiple taxation in the education sector, which, according to him, had hindered many school owners from undertaking infrastructure development in their schools.

In his remarks, the chairman of the state chapter of the Parents-Teachers Association, Chief Adeola Osadare, lauded Gov Fayemi for paying the 2019 WASC fee of about 14,000 students in the public schools across the state.

Other stakeholders, such as the chairman of the Nigerian Union of Teachers, Mr Samuel Olugbesan, also thanked the governor for prioritizing the welfare of teachers.