School Violence: Expelling Erring Students Will Be Our Last Option, Says Ogun Govt

 

ABEOKUTA – The Ogun State government on Tuesday said expelling erring students in the public schools would be the last option in the series of disciplinary measures put in place by the state government.

The government said it had rolled out some measures aimed at combating unruly behaviors and other acts of indiscipline among students in public secondary schools in the state.

The State Commissioner for Education, Science, and Technology, Professor Abayomi Arigbagbu, said several measures had been put in place to checkmate the misconduct among the students noted that the problem of misbehaviors amongst students is a reflection of what is happening in the larger society.

Arigbagbu said the government would not fold its arms and allowed the incidences that happened in some of its schools the last term to rear its ugly head again.

The commissioner explained that a series of meetings were held with all stakeholders in the education industry in the state in repositioning the schools to model ones among the comity of schools, not only in the South West but the country at large.

“The state government has organized a series of meetings with stakeholders in the state education sector, including principals and headteachers of public primary and secondary schools, owners of private schools in the state, Old Students’ Association, security agents, NUT, ASSUS, PTA, among others”.

He identified poor parenting; improper upbringing; the issue of underage children; environmental factors; peer group influence and the economic situation of the country as some of the factors responsible for these challenges.

The commissioner implored parents to play their roles in molding their children into becoming responsible students, submitting that the children spent more hours at home than in schools.

“The state government is unhappy with events that occurred in some of our schools the last term. It is important to note that issues of misbehaviors and misdemeanors are not something peculiar to schools in the state. What is happening is a reflection of what is happening in the larger society”.

“It is unfortunate that this is happening in the state, a state that is noted for recording firsts in all areas of human endeavors.

“As a responsible government, we cannot sit down and allow this development to consume us. We have critically looked at those issues and that is why we extended the resumption date for us to strategize more on how to curtail it.

“We will continue to improve on the situation in our schools. We are addressing the issue of congestion in classes to promote effective and efficient teaching and learning processes. The issue of dual registration will also be tackled” he added.

According to the commissioner, part of the measures put in place to curb indiscipline among the students is the reintroduction of extracurricular activities, Post Examination  Entertainment Programme (PEEP) in schools and equally Inter-House Sports Competition amongst others, the introduction of parents clubs in schools, the introduction of staggered closing time, discouraging visits to schools by parents.

He added that there would also be a reward system for students in the state at the school, zonal, and state levels to serve as a source of encouragement to deserving students.

He added that the state would put in place a mechanism that will prevent any student expelled from public school in the state to be readmitted into any school in the state, including private schools, saying that any private school that flouts the order would have its license withdrawn.