32 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012
Heads to roll in unity schools over misappropriation of funds BY FAVOUR NNABUGWU
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HE Federal Government has vowed to sack any public officer of federal unity colleges indicted in the alleged misappropriation of funds and general mismanagement of the schools. Minister of State for Education, Barrister Nyesom Wike, made this known in Abuja on Tuesday, on receiving the reports of the various Needs Assessment Committees set up three weeks ago on
unity schools across the six geo-political zones of the country. Wike was apparently angered by the reports that some principals of the schools misapplied the resources allocated to the institutions for infrastructure development. Assuring members of the committees that the reports would not be swept under the carpet, he stressed that any body that was indicted would face the wrath of the Federal Government He said that a committee
would be set up immediately to harmonise the reports for government to commence action. The reports indicated misapplication of funds, dilapidated infrastructure and inadequate teaching staff as some of the factors responsible for decline in the quality of educational delivery in the colleges. The Minister said: “We have the political will to implement the recommendations of the committee on Needs Assessment of the federal gov-
ernment colleges in the country.” While commending the risk taken by the members of the committee especially those who went to the North-East and North-West, assured that the report is not the kind that were dumped in the past. Wike who lamented the lack of interest of the staff of the ministry, however, directed that the names of the directors and committee members who were absent from the assignment given
to them should be submitted to his office for further action. In reaction to some of the recommendations, the Minister disclosed that his ministry has been given the go ahead to regularize the services of about 1,000 qualified teachers who were on part-time. To buttress the seriousness of the Federal Government, the Minister said the ministry will within two weeks set up another committee to review the report submitted. ”We must do something to show that we are serious, resources will be rationed, we will bring back the lost glory of these schools, members of the committee and directors in the ministry who failed to attend the completed assignment will be compelled to explain their action," he added.
Ojo LGA seeks to improve primary school infrastructure BY LAJU ARENYEKA
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VER-CROWDED classrooms. Leaking roofs. Schools with broken fences. Schools with no fences. Pictures whose unveiling could be the nightmare of any education district in Nigeria. But for Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos state, these pictures, coupled with over a thousand words were used as tools at the recently held education summit on Public Private Partnership; Tools to secure a better learning environment for the primary school students of the area. According to the education secretary of the district, Mr. Tolani Sule, the essence of the summit was to “bring together all stakeholders-public, private, non-governmental organisations, churches, mosques etc- to see what is going on in the educational system here, and how we can improve it and make it better.” Sule said that there is a wide disparity between the required infrastructure and the available infrastructure to cater for primary school students in the area. “The required furniture for the 33,764 pupils in our 52 schools is 14, 884 desks and chairs, but we have only about 7, 472 available. Only about 20 of these schools have good toilets, and only about 12 are well fenced.” The former Deputy Governor of lagos State who also doubled as Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Sarah Adebisi Sosan chaired the occasion as various speakers sought to proffer solutions to the situation. The state Commissioner for Rural Development, Hon. C.O
•An overcrowded classroom in Ojo LGA Ojelabi called on individuals and organisations to practise foundation-based and faithbased, public-private partnership (PPP) as well as the adopt-a-school programme and engage in the school capacity-building initiative. Dr. Danoye Laguda, a lecturer at the Lagos State University advised the district to seek private intervention from the Alaba Market Community. He also added that “Contractors should be willing to give back from what they earn. For example, if they have been contracted to build a specific number of classrooms, they can build an additional number on their own bill. There should be a bye law
supporting this.” Laguda also called on the government to provide incentives for those who are willing to support the cause, as well as proper maintenance by the royal fathers. Lanre Ogunyemi, a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly said that public confidence in public primary schools is very low. “How many political office holders or even teachers have children in these schools? Community leaders must seek the support of more privileged members of the society, the Local Government should generate a database of all those that can be ap-
•A dilapidated classroom in Ojo LGA proached to salvage the situation.” Sosan, however, assured all who are willing to support the local government of transparency and integrity. “The money in the hands of the government cannot meet all these needs. That is why we are
enjoining the support of all stakeholders. What we did when I was in office was to lay our challenges on the table and solicit support. We allowed them to do what they wanted and only ensured through monitoring that they met our specifications.”