Oyo State - Children’s Day: Ajimobi summons heads of 15 schools over improper dressing of pupils

[OyoState]

Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State, on Monday, summoned heads of 15 out of the schools that participated in the match past to mark this year's Children's Day celebrations to his office for improper dressing of their pupils.

The Governor, while speaking shortly after taking salute at the match past that witnessed the presence of several schools, both primary and secondary, at the Lekan Salami Sports Complex, Adamasingba, Ibadan, indicted the headship of the schools for the appearances of the pupils which he said was below standard.

Governor Ajimobi said that he took particular notice of the affected schools, which comprised 11 nursery/primary schools and four secondary schools, while they were matching past him, saying that the dressing of the pupils was unacceptable.

He observed that while some of the children put on torn clothes, others appeared dirty and unkempt, with their shoes not matching their uniforms.

While ordering the head-teachers and principals of the affected schools to report to his office immediately, the Governor also directed officials of the State Ministry of Education to visit the schools to ascertain their environmental condition.

He said that any of the schools that failed to meet the required environmental condition would be shut down.

"The dirty appearances of these pupils are a reflection of the low quality of supervision of the head-teachers and the principals of their schools. I won't tolerate that because in Oyo State today, quality is the game,'' he said.

Governor Ajimobi described the theme of this year's celebration "Our Children, Our Future: Our Collective Responsibility'' as timely, saying it synchronized with his administration's reformation agenda.

He said that the theme also reflected Government's efforts at raising the consciousness of parents, families and the society at large on the critical need to promote the rights of children to development and meaningful existence.

The Governor said it was, however, disheartening to note that as a result of the nation's current security challenges and the prevalence of HIV/AIDS, a good number of children had lost their lives while others were traumatized, orphaned and vulnerable due to loss of one or both parents.

"Some are even subjected to intercourseual exploitations and various forms of child molestations which are detrimental to national peaceful co-existence,'' he noted.

Governor Ajimobi, therefore, charged schools, parents, guardians and care-givers to imbibe the culture of "teach a child what he or she should do'' in order to facilitate the development of the State and carve a better image for the citizens.

Via: Oyo State Government - Official Press Release

[OyoState]