Osun: FBOMF Raises Alarm Over Poor School Facilities, Teacher Shortage In Ayedaade

-Distributes School Bags, Other Educational Materials

By Boluwatife Adedokun, Osogbo

A non-governmental organisation, the Funmilola Bamidele Oke Memorial Foundation (FBOMF), has called on governments at all levels to increase funding for education, improve school infrastructure and prioritise teachers’ welfare following concerns over inadequate learning facilities and shortage of teachers in public schools in Ayedaade Local Government Area of Osun State.

The foundation made the appeal during an educational outreach on Monday to five schools in Orile Owu and Araromi Owu, where pupils and students received school bags, exercise books, biros, pencils and mathematical sets.

FBOMF was founded and is chaired by Hon. Taiwo Oluga, a former member of the House of Representatives who represented Ayedaade/Irewole/Isokan Federal Constituency. The foundation is committed to supporting education and improving the welfare of vulnerable members of society.

The schools visited were Orile Owu Grammar School, Apostolic Grammar School and St. Luke’s Primary School, all in Orile Owu, as well as Araromi Owu Grammar School and Ebenezer African Church Primary School at Araromi Market, Araromi Owu.

Speaking after the visits, the foundation’s Secretary, Barrister Adenitan Akinola, said government funding for education must translate into tangible improvements in classrooms, learning facilities and teachers’ working conditions.

Akinola stressed that poverty should not prevent children from accessing quality education, noting that some pupils lacked basic learning materials, including school bags, uniforms and exercise books.

“Education is a right, and every child should enjoy that right,” he said, adding that interventions aimed at providing essential learning materials could encourage disadvantaged children to enrol in school and remain committed to their studies.

He urged governments to fulfil their responsibilities under the Constitution and the Universal Basic Education framework by providing adequate infrastructure, well-equipped laboratories, information and communication technology facilities and other essential teaching aids.

The FBOMF secretary also called for stronger school supervision, effective implementation of education budgets and improved remuneration, training and welfare packages for teachers.

Akinola explained that the foundation’s interventions extended beyond the distribution of educational materials, adding that it was also committed to promoting girls’ education through mentorship programmes and supporting the economic empowerment of elderly women and widows.

He said the foundation selected communities for its humanitarian interventions based on its broader objectives and would continue to extend support to communities beyond those visited during the outreach.

According to him, the challenges observed during the visits underscored the need for greater government attention to primary and secondary education, which he described as the foundation of the country’s educational system.

At Ebenezer African Church Primary School, the Headmistress, Ajibade Moji, expressed appreciation for the support.

She added that many of the pupils lacked school bags and other essential learning materials, describing the foundation’s intervention as timely.

Similarly, a teacher at Apostolic Grammar School, Smoller Mutiu, appealed to the government to provide laboratory equipment and recruit more teachers to improve teaching and learning conditions.

“We need laboratory equipment. Our students need equipment for learning and we also need teachers in this school,” Mutiu said, while commending the foundation for its intervention.

The senior boy of the school, Aremo Sunday, and the Principal of Orile Owu Grammar School, Ganiyu Adejobi, also expressed appreciation to the foundation for supporting the students.

Other teachers and pupils across the schools visited similarly commended FBOMF for providing learning materials to support their educational needs.

The foundation’s delegation also paid a courtesy visit to the traditional ruler of Araromi Owu, where it briefed him on the challenges identified during the school visits, particularly the shortage of teachers and inadequate learning facilities.