Ademola Babalola in Ibadan
The Oyo State Government has approved the rehabilitation of 100 public secondary schools across the 33 local government areas, as well as the construction of four compartments VIP toilets.
The government, which disclosed that the project will cost N1,960,417,772.57, said a total of 10 contractors will handle the projects in the 100 schools across the state.
The Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr. Toye Arulogun, who disclosed this in Ibadan, said the State Executive Council gave the approval during its meeting last week.
He said the upgrade of infrastructure in schools to facilitate the provision of the much required enabling learning environment that will fast track the transformation and repositioning of the state education sector is non-negotiable, emphasising that the Ajimobi led administration has prioritised education as one of its legacy sectors.
The commissioner explained that 34 schools will be renovated in LGAs in Ibadan Zone; 30 schools from Oke Ogun Zone;15 from Ogbomoso Zone; 12 from Oyo Zone; while the remaining nine schools are from Ibarapa Zone.
He said the schools to be rehabilitated with the construction of four compartments VIP toilets are Emmanuel Grammar School, Samonda; Anglican Grammar School, Kudeti; Otun Agbaakin Community Grammar School, Akinyele; Fiditi Grammar School, Fiditi; Orayan Grammar School; Progressive Grammar School, Tede.
Others are Community High School, Alarere; Lagelu Grammar School, Agugu; Jericho High School, Eleyele; Peoples Girls Grammar School, Molete; Igboora High School, Igboora; Baptist High School, Eruwa; Ayete Grammar School, Ayete; Araromi Awotan Community High School, Apete; Iba High School, Saki, among others.
Arulogun said the state’s Bureau of Public Procurement had issued the certification for the renovation of the one hundred schools, warning that contractors should abide by the project specification and duration.
He stressed that the government will not relent in its resolve to positively turn around the education sector, pointing out that government’s efforts are already yielding fruitful results with the recent 54.4 per cent pass rate in WASSCE being the best in the last 18 years and students from the state emerging the first and second best in the 2017 WASSCE in Nigeria, as well as the best 2017 WASSCE student in a public school celebrated at the recent launch of the State’s Education Trust Fund with scholarships.
