Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki has ordered the closure of all primary and secondary schools with dilapidated structures.
This followed condemnation over a viral video which showed pupils of Holy Aruosa Primary School in Benin City, sitting under the rain in a flooded classroom with torn roof.
Special Adviser to the Governor on Media, Crusoe Osagie, in a statement said, “All such schools, with dilapidated structures have been shut down with immediate effect. Students and pupils in the affected schools are hereby relocated to other schools that will be announced soon.”
He said Secretary to the State Government, Osarodion Ogie Esq., visited Holy Aruosa Primary School on Thursday, to announce the state government’s decision.
Continuing, the aide noted; “The state government has ordered an investigation to ascertain why the initial relocation order of the pupils with their teachers was not enforced.”
“One of the allegations being investigated is the suspicion that some teachers, who are refusing to be transferred out of the school, selfishly kept those kids in the school under unsafe condition.”
On the ongoing reform in the state’s education sector, Osagie said that, “On assumption of office in November 2016, Governor Godwin Obaseki ordered an inventory of facilities and the enumeration of primary and secondary schools in the state.
“After the census, the schools were categorised into three: those in grade A are in good condition; those in B need little intervention and schools in grade C require total renovation.
“It is obvious that Holy Aruosa Primary School and Osula Primary School, among others, fell in the third category and require urgent attention. The worst of them like Holy Aruosa were shut down.”
He maintained that, “As is the culture of this administration, groundwork has already begun for this renovation process to commence, as only few months ago bid rounds were held for the rehabilitation of some of these schools.
“The renovation work is expected to cover 1,200 public schools in the state, with the first batch of 230 schools captured in the pilot phase of the exercise.
“We assure that work will soon commence at these schools within Benin metropolis and other parts of the state, and call on communities to protect the structures as soon as they’re built.
“The state government will expedite action on the renovation work to ensure that our pupils learn in conducive environment, even as we roll out the Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation (Edo BEST) programme to some of these schools in coming weeks” Osagie added.
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