Aregbesola Commissions another 3,000 Capacity High School

By Abdulrofiu Agboola, Osogbo

Osun state Governor, Ogbeni  Rauf Aregbesola, on Monday, commissioned Adventist Government High School, Ede, making it the fourth high school commissioned by his administration in the state.

The Governor stated that the remaining seven high schools are ongoing and would be commissioned very soon.

Aregbesola who was received by the highly elated pupils of the new school said at the commissioning his government is unrelenting in its resolve to change the face of education and produce men and women who can fit and function maximally in the new world order.

The Governor, in his speech titled Sound and Unshakeable Legacy, said the mega schools would be the legacies of his administration just as he recalled that prior his coming, schools were caricature of what educational facilities should be.

He said, “What is more important however is that these schools are our legacy signature in education in Osun and will be the imposing monuments of a vision for mass literacy in the state, at a specific time in history.”

Recalling what the schools in Osun were, Aregbesola said, “They were dirty, decrepit and falling apart. Basic amenities were missing.

“The school environment was a demotivating factor to learning and character building. It is very cruel to keep children in them. In developed countries, animal rights activists would not allow goats to be kept in them.

“Why should we keep our children there? I vowed that it would not happen under my watch and I thank Almighty God that we have realised our vision of providing a conducive learning environment for our pupils.”

The governor said the facilities available in the school are more than enough to stimulate learning adding that his administration would not relent in putting in place the best facilities to develop education.

He said, “This school, a three-in-one, as is our standard, has 72 Classrooms of 49 square-meters, each capable of sitting 49 students. It has six offices for study groups, six laboratories, 18 toilets for young ladies, 18 toilets for young men, a science library, an Arts library, facility manager’s office, bookshop and a sick bay. It also has a bursar’s office, three principals’ office, three general staff office and one senior principal office.

“It has a record store security/reception office. There is a borehole for adequate water supply and a transformer for power supply.
“There is also a 1000square-meters of floor space Hall capable of siting 1000 students for external examinations. This hall has storage for equipment, utility storage, a stage, office space, storage for documents, four female toilets and four male toilets.”

Saying his government is focused on preparing children for the future, the Governor said those who would be educated in these new schools are expected to be equipped with what it takes to function maximally in a new world order.

He said, “Our overall vision is to develop the new man intellectually, socially and morally. “This new man is placed in the centre of society who views his own development as part of and for the development of society.

“This is a non-parasitic and non-oppressive man who views his existence in light of the growth of others; he views whatever acquired to be subsumed in the overall interest of other. He is a man in himself and a man for society.

“I made the point at the 25th anniversary of the creation of our state and needs reiterating now. “The investment we are making in education is not for now. We are looking at the next 25 years, where the current pupils would be and what their position would be in an increasingly competitive and digitised world.”

According to Aregbesola, each of the high schools are designed to accommodate a minimum of 3,000 students.

“Presently, a total of 4 High School building projects have been completed while 7 others are ongoing with the building projects at various advanced stages of completion.

“The new high schools are designed to accommodate a minimum of 3,000 students and they are provided with standard facilities and equipments in safe and serene environment.

“Also, a total of 22 new Middle Schools and 20 Elementary schools have been delivered and many more are still coming up.

Governor Aregbesola who also dispelled rumour of the opposition that students’ performance have been woeful in his term, stated that his intervention in the education sector has achieved modest improvement in the performance of students in the WASSC Examinations.