Ondo plans speedboats for riverside school pupils

The Ondo State Government said it has concluded arrangements to provide free speedboats for pupils of the riverside communities in the state to convey the pupils to and from their schools.
The Ondo State Commissioner for Education, Mr. Jide Adejuyigbe, disclosed this while receiving a team from the Anambra State Ministry of Education led by the Commissioner, Prof. Kate Omenugha, in his office in Akure on Wednesday.
Adejuyigbe said the government made the free boats provision for the pupils that lived in the riverside communities in Ilaje and Ese Odo Local Government Areas of the state in order to replicate the free shuttle buses that had already been provided for pupils in the other 18 local governments.
He noted that the state government had put in place necessary educational facilities to standardise primary and secondary school education, saying this had helped students in the state to excel in both internal and external examinations.
According to him, examination malpractices has been drastically reduced while ‘Miracle Centres’, where some students liked to sit their Senior School Certificate Examination, were gradually phasing out as students were well prepared for their examinations in conventional schools.

ADVERTISEMENT

Adejuyigbe added, “Our goal is to provide qualitative education for our pupils and the government is doing everything possible to achieve this. We are making sure that our schools are provided with facilities that will make them conducive for learning. That is why our students are performing well in both internal and external examinations.
“The government built 51 Mega Schools across the state, provided 90 free shuttle buses for the pupils in all the local government areas to take the pupils to and from school everyday. The government has also concluded plan to provide speedboats for the students of the riverside communities where there are no roads, to take them to and from schools.
“These have has increased punctuality rate and curb lateness while the rate of out-of-school children has been reduced to zero in Ondo State. Education is free, parents have no excuses again not to send their children to school in this state. We have deployed about 850 local governments employees in schools to teach. This administration believes in qualitative education.”
Omenugha commended the state government for the achievements made in the education sector, most especially primary education.
The Anambra education commissioner said, “The system (Mega Schools) is worthwhile because if you get it right at this stage of education, the rest becomes simple. I wish we all can make our schools to be like that and I keep saying it, if we get it right at this level, we will get it right all the way.
“I am impressed with what this government is doing in education here; this shows that Ondo State is on top of education in Nigeria.”