“We have a duty to make our schools safe and well protected” – Governor declares.
TEC News!
The Ekiti State Governor, Abiodun Oyebanji, has said on Saturday in his home town, Ikogosi Ekiti that the government has a duty to make the schools safe and well protected which informed the ban placed on the use of public schools premises for social functions.
The governor who has restated this decision of the state government’s ban on the use of public schools for social functions as mentioned earlier, added that any head of school that flouts the directive would be heavily sanctioned.
The ban, according to the Governor, is to preserve and protect facilities in the public schools and make them conducive for learning.
Oyebanji bemoaned how facilities in schools were being destroyed by people who hired them for social engagements, like burial parties, wedding receptions saying such trend could destroy the functionality of public schools if allowed to continue unabated.
The Governor stated this at his Ikogosi Ekiti home town, on Saturday, during the 2024 Ikogosi Day celebrations and launch of N1 billion Development Fund, which was attended by high profile dignitaries across the nation.
Addressing the gathering, Governor Oyebanji said his government owes the people the onerous duty of preserving their investments in education and infrastructures, adding the step was taken to ensure that education is not destroyed on the altar of dispensing patronages to people.
Oyebanji stressed that the Ikogosi Day celebrations was held at a private field and not in a school premises in compliance with the ban on the use of public schools premises
He said: “We were to hold this function within the premises of Baptist Primary School, Ikogosi, which is a public primary school, but I said no, that this place, which is a private place should be used.
“This is a signal to those who will be calling me and sending text messages that they want to use government schools for social functions that there is a ban on it and I am restating this here today.
“We have a duty to make our schools safe and well protected. I want to charge all the chairmen of the local governments and heads of schools to enforce this. You must make sure that the use of public schools for burial, wedding and other social functions is stopped”.
In an apparent reference to the suspension of an erring official over the matter, the Governor said government is prepared to sanction more violators of the ban order.
Commenting on the current economic situation in the country , Oyebanji urged well meaning indigenes to reach out to the poor, in order to cushion the effect of the current hardship on them, adding it is expedient to exhibit love to neighbours at this crucial time.
It is in record that many communities in the country use public schools in their community for social functions due to economic reason as it is most times used freely and without cost but the state government has chosen to prioritize the safety of state assets in school by restricting the continuous use of the facilities. Let us know what your thoughts are on this development by commenting please.