Sunday Okobi
The Osun State Government has charged students in the state to shun academic corruption as it is capable of destroying their future and the country, urging them to face their studies squarely so as to succeed in school and after.
The Commissioner for Education, Mr. Omotunde Young gave the advice in Ilesa, Osun State during the first spelling bee competition organised by the Olasunkanmi Cicero Foundation, in conjunction with Good Leadership Promotion Network and Hope Alive Initiative.
Young, who was represented by an official from the state Ministry of Education, Mrs. Aluko, said if the students are committed to their academic pursuit, they would become useful assets to themselves and the society.
Echoing the state government’s stance on academic excellence, the guest speaker, Dr. Wale Bolorunduro said the place of education cannot be underestimated in the development of the country, adding that a country cannot have a sustainable goal if its education system is not improved.
He said no country can maintain development properly at certain points or modules if the education base is fluid or nebulous, adding that the ability of any country to maintain radical development is one of the yardsticks used in measuring the level and quality of education.
“The quantum of development in any country depends solely on the rate of its education system, either formal or informal. A country which votes much of its resources in education has nothing to fear about development because it will serve as a catalyst to high rate of development.â€
Bolorunduro called on the government to give education the priority it deserves by following the United Nations General Assembly Declaration 2005-214 UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development in which UNESCO leads the decade and has developed an International Implementation Scheme for the decade educational sustainability.
He commended the organisers of the competition and encouraged them to do more in the area of supporting the Sustainable Development Goals and urged the students to focus solely on their studies as this would take them to great height in life.
The coordinator of the competition, Olaniyi Odina congratulated the winner, St. John Comprehensive School 1, Ilesa for defeating other competitors to clinch the trophy.