By Tayo Joseph Lagos, Nigeria.
In a bid to ensure that members of the recently inaugurated School Governing Boards (SGBS) of Oyo State Public Secondary Schools perform at optimal level, the state government is organising a sensitisation programme across the state to highlight the roles and functions of the SGBs to its members.
The state Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Professor Adeniyi Olowofela said at the weekend that the state government’s resolve to turn around education in the state is compelling, saying that the Ministry of Education has been mandated to guarantee that desired deliverables are achieved through the operations and functioning of SGBs to restore the lost glory of education in the state.
Olowofela said that the sensitization programme on the functions of the SGBs for Secondary schools in Ogbomoso zone will hold on Monday, March 6, 2017 at Anglican Grammar School, Ogbomoso, the one for Kajola zone is on Thursday, March 9 at Iseyin District Grammar School, Iseyin, while Oyo zone will be on Friday, March 10 at Olivet Baptist High School, Oyo.
He disclosed that the sensitization programme for Saki zone is on Tuesday, March 14 at Baptist High School Saki while the one for Irepo will hold on Wednesday, March 15, 2017 at Irepo Grammar School, Igboho, adding that SGBs Chairmen, Schools Principals and Local Inspectors of Education (LIE) are expected at the sensitization programmes.
Also, the State Government has reiterated its commitment to improving the quality of services rendered by employees all over the state, noting that the on-going screening exercise was a way of flushing out the bad eggs out of the public/civil service of Oyo state in order to enable fresh, young and competent graduates get job opportunities.
The Head of Service (HoS) in the state, Soji Eniade while speaking on a radio programme monitored at the weekend explained that the consultant in charge of the screening exercise is neither a civil servant nor a politician.
“He is a neutral person, he is the one that carried out the screening exercise in Osun state and he is not even an acquaintance of the Governor. Most times, fake certificates are issued when people go to study centres in their quest for educational upgrade instead of registering at a genuine institution. Some civil servants even buy certificates in a bid to get promoted in the civil service,” he said.
Eniade however assured that if any of the affected teachers or employees have concrete evidence to prove that there was a mix up and feel they do not deserve dismissal, they should come to his office, stating that they would be attended to and probably cleared if their complaints are genuine.
The HoS concluded by urging all civil servants to collect their original certificates, explaining that the screening exercise is a continuous one and only one per cent of the civil servants have been screened.
In their responses, two callers on the programme commended the step taken by the Oyo State Government and sighted instances of their personal experiences of such employees who presented fake certificates or a document called ‘To Whom it may Concern’ when applying for jobs.
