Inclusive Forum for Accountability Society IFAS has called on Governor Biodun Oyebanji to prevail on the authorities of the Ministry of Education to approve the official establishment of a secondary school for people of Aba-Osun in Ikogosi Ekiti, Ekiti West Local Government.
This is part of resolutions reached during the quarterly meeting of the group held at the office of the Environmental Development Family and Health Organization in Ado Ekiti.
Speaking the Executive Director, Environmental Development Family and Health Organization, Sir,Olu Ogunrotimi said the request is to enable children of the community have access to secondary school education in the comfort of their community.
According to him, the concerned community already had some structure and EDFHO with support from Actionaid-Nigeria had procured modern furniture worth over a million for the take off of the school but the lack of formal approval had stalled it’s official take off.
He noted that children of the community had to travel miles to other community to seek secondary school education a situation they said was not healthy considering the social, health and security implications.
EDFHO with support of Actionaid-Nigeri working in 8 communities in 3 local governments of Ekiti state and such could be expanded in future.
“September last year, during one of our intervention, in one of the communities, ‘Aba-Osun’ in Ikogosi Ekiti, Ekiti West Local Government Area. This a remote community, the children there have primary school already and some neighbouring community like ‘Asa-Ori, Akuta, Alawaye’, in these three communities we observed that children after primary school education will have to trek daily to their various schools, some to Ilawe, Igbara-Odo, some to Ikogosi which are far distances.
“Even, a child of less than 12 years living his parents to another community rent apartment so that they can attend secondary schools. This poses problems like, insecurity, Gender Base Violence, GBV, especially on the girl child.
“So, because of this, we realise that, this community needs a secondary school together with the community on September precisely 2022, we wrote Ministry of Education for the establishment of a public secondary school in that particular society but till today we are still struggling to get approval, after all conditions have been met.
“Even my organization has bought a material worth over 1million to donate to that society immediately the school is approved. We were expecting that the school would take off this session. Parents are ready, they even hired teachers, put their children in the building, teaching them now, even without the approval. So, the community is ready, but we don’t know what is stopping the approval.
There are buildings there and we are still working on additional buildings, all we are clamouring for is approval and for Government to start posting teachers there. We have gotten materials, we have gotten tables and chairs for the teachers, we have gotten lockers and chairs for the children.
However, we have other areas of concerns in the other communities. Ajebandele Community also in Ekiti west LGA, situated on rocky area, no water, there were gangatic elephant projects in the past. Of recent, we surveyed the environment and we are able to get a reliable point of about 1.2km to the community which we are also working to get drinkable water to serve the community.