Our Free Education Policy Doesn’t Cover WAEC/NECO Payment ― Oyo Govt

We need to clarify the state free education policy says the Oyo Commissioner for Education, Science, and Technology, Professor Dahud Sangodoyin, who on Tuesday, listed components of Governor Seyi Makinde led administration. 

Responding to journalists’ questions on outcry in some sections of the public that SS3 students were to pay for external examinations, Sangodoyin said the state government’s free education policy encompassed improving accessibility, ensuring conducive teaching and learning environment, rewarding excellent performance, enabling teachers to have requisite skills.

Specifically, he averred that the policy covered the provision of textbooks, exercise books, compendium, provision of infrastructural facilities, cancellation of payment of levies and tuition fees.

He posited that parents usually reached a decision on what external examination their children or wards should sit for hence they had a duty to pay themselves.

While maintaining that the state’s free education policy subsisted, he held that parents also had to play their own role in the education of their children and wards.

“When you look at policies of Baba Awolowo and late Chief Bola Ige, they did free education but it does not include external examinations.

The external examination is a decision of the parents and children. It could be a decision to not sit for WAEC but a London examination like Cambridge.

“So, our own government is providing a conducive environment for learning and indeed free education should be the responsibility of our government and the parents also. Therefore, the free education policy stands, but the payment of external examination is the decision of the parents of our children,” Sangodoyin said.

Speaking further, Sangodoyin said the state had set aside N57.4 million for 1,280 teachers to partake in intervention lesson classes for SS3 students.

Meanwhile, state Commissioner for Establishment and Training, Mr. Olasunkanmi Olaleye also, on Tuesday, conveyed the state government’s decision to recall over 300 sacked workers.

Approved for a recall to service are 12 workers with a court judgment in their favor, about 300 people established to have been wrongfully dismissed or retired.

However, Olaleye said about 499 people confirmed with fake certificates, will not be recalled.

“We have 12 workers with the judgment of the court which government will honor, we have seven others who have their cases in court. We have about 300 people who it was established to have either been dismissed or retired without going through due process. Those ones will be recalled back into the system.

“The government has forgiven their shortcomings because they were also punished without following due process. The government has agreed to bring them back into the system.

We have about 499 people confirmed with fake certificates, those ones will not be recalled. You’ll see the other small breakdown and details of the recommendation and approval,” Olaleye said.