Ondo State could stop free education

Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State on Thursday said that, if advised by stakeholders in the education sector, his administration might have to discontinue the free education policy for pupils in the state.

Akeredolu lamented the deplorable condition of primary and secondary schools in the state, saying there was a need to reform the education system.

The governor stated this at the opening ceremony of the 2017 Education Summit held at the International Event Centre, Akure, the state capital.

The summit was themed, Repositioning Education and Technology Growth,’ was organised by the government to define the way forward for education in the state. Affirming that his administration would adopt whatever recommendations made at the summit, Akeredolu stressed that government’s continued payment of the pupils’ fees for the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination and the provision of free shuttle buses, among other gestures, would also depend on the recommendations of the stakeholders in the two-day summit.

He said, “I will be waiting for the recommendation of the summit. It is what they say I should do that I will do.Who bears the cost of educating our citizens in the face of dwindling fortunes? Can the resources of state sustain the current ostentatious practices, such as the payment of WAEC fees, free bus shuttle programme, maintenance of over-bloated workforce with no discernible schedules of responsibilities, duplication of disciplines in our tertiary institutions, among others?

Source: ( Punch Newspaper )

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