APC's 'Ill-conceived Initiatives' Killing Osun Education — PDP

'Ill-conceived' educational policies introduced by the Mr. Rauf Aregbesola-led All Progressives Congress (APC) government is to blame for the falling standard of education in Osun state.

The Osun state Osun State chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) made the accusation following the dismal performance of Osun state students in the May/June West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) examination.

According to results published on WAEC's website, Osun State came in the 22nd position and the PDP believes this is a direct result of state government's failings.

In a statement signed by Prince Diran Odeyemi, the chapter's Director of Media and Strategy, the rapid fall from a 9th position placing in 1999 to the current 22nd position is alarming.

“Falling to ignominious 22nd position less than 4 years of Mr Rauf Aregbesola’s reign , despite the introduction of over-hyped, controversy-ridden Opon Imo, tablets of knowledge, among other ill-conceived initiatives like O’ schools, should be enough reason for a serious governor to resign from office," the statement read.

“Today, regardless of the huge media hype woven round the school reclassification programme of the present administration, through which public schools in the state were forcefully lumped and the initial over 2,000 public primary and secondary schools, compressed to less than 200 primary, middle and secondary schools, the initiative remains counter productive as shown by the last WAEC result.

“Our investigations also revealed that, going by the results of students that sat for the last WAEC in public schools in the state, Osun actually placed 30th among the 36 states in the country."

But the Osun APC countered the accusation.

It says the state government cannot be blamed for what it called a "national failure" in which nearly 70 percent of the candidates failed to obtain five 5 credits including the required Mathematics and English Language.

“So the PDP should begin by asking its Federal authority where did things go wrong? To now come to Osun and be issuing a press statement is a cheap propaganda that will not fly.

“As far as Osun government is concerned, if there is any area where it scored the highest mark in less than 4 years in office, it is in education and even the world recognises that."

Recently, Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State said students' mass failure is due to non-appealing teaching methods while the American University of Nigeria, Prof Margee Ensign, says Nigeria needs to train at least 1000 teachers a day to save education fortunes.