Stakeholders in the education sector have decried wanton decay in the system occasioned by compromise among school owners and regulators.
They spoke at the 21st valedictory service and prize-giving day of Good Shepherd Schools, Meiran, Lagos at the weekend.
Good Shepherd Schools held valedictory service in its three campuses at Alakuko, Atan and Meiran, with 170 students and pupils graduating from the schools.
Speaking at the event, Senior Lecturer and Post-Graduate Coordinator, Department of Arts and Social Sciences Education, University of Lagos, Dr. Olumide Ige said the decay in schools in the country was a reflection of the society.
He said when school owners compromised standard through devious acts, there is no hope for the nation, stressing that to checkmate moral decadence in schools, the nation must go back to its original plan and standard for education.
“Many schools have lost focus, the schools must start preparing students to solve problems. The schools should not add to the population of bad eggs in the society,” Ige said.
He challenged graduating students of Good Shepherd Schools to brace up for the challenges ahead as they were bound to overcome.
Director of Operations, Good Shepherd Schools, Dr. Yemisi Oyeyemi said regulators of schools were the major problem of the education sector as they readily compromised standard.
She argued that when school regulators compromised, they would not be able to do the right thing to checkmate corruption in schools.
“We need to get it right from the top. Those willing to change the system are often frustrated, we need people who have vision and the will power to do the right thing. Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili was doing the right thing to revamp the system, but she was frustrated.
“Government should look for men and women with integrity to man the system. A nation that does not get the future right is doomed,” Oyeyemi stated.
Chairman, Good Shepherd Schools, Dr. Bayo Oyeyemi, said the school was founded on the pillar of godliness and remained committed to core values of academic discipline and abhorred all forms of education corruption.
“I have no doubt in my mind that Good Shepherd’s style of education prepares children for worthwhile living in a world that is threatened by many forms of unwholesomeness. Children here understand that success is not achieved by cutting corners,” he said.
According to Oyeyemi, the future of any society is a reflection of the goings on around its children, which was why the school had remained resolute for close to three decades in providing corruption-free education.
