Education: Olabode Omoyele salutes Ondo Ministry for rehabilitating unruly SS3 students
By Steve Ovirih.
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State, Mr. Olabode Omoyele, has commended the State Ministry of Education, Science and Technology for adopting a rehabilitative approach in handling the 17 final-year students involved in unruly sign-out celebrations in Akure.
The Ministry had earlier sanctioned students of Oyemekun Grammar School, Aquinas College and CAC Grammar School, Akure, after a viral video showed them tearing uniforms and engaging in disorderly conduct following their final West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) papers.
The government initially withheld their WASSCE results and testimonials and announced other disciplinary measures, including misconduct records and queries to principals. Commissioner of Education, Science and Technology, Prof.Igbekele Ajibefun announced the lifting of the strict disciplinary measures on the students.
Olabode, in a statement in Akure yesterday, said the Ministry’s decision to balance discipline with rehabilitation was commendable and in the best interest of the education sector.
He said the move showed that the administration of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa was not interested in destroying the future of the youths but in correcting them.
“What the Ministry has done is a demonstration of firmness with compassion. While discipline must be upheld in our schools, these SS3 students are at a formative stage. Expulsion alone would have pushed them further away, but rehabilitation brings them back to responsibility,” he said.
The APC chieftain noted that the inclusion of mandatory counselling, community service and psychosocial support for the affected students was a more sustainable model of school discipline.
According to him, the state government has set a precedent for other states on how to manage youthful exuberance without sacrificing moral standards.
“Education must be a partnership between the family, the school and the state. I salute the Commissioner for Education,Prof.Ajibefun and the entire Ministry for showing leadership. They have protected the dignity of the students while also protecting the image of our schools,” Omoyele added.
He urged parents, school administrators and community leaders to complement government efforts by strengthening moral instruction and supervision, warning that discipline without guidance would not yield lasting results.
Olabode also called on the Ministry to ensure the presence of trained guidance counsellors in all public schools across the 18 local government areas of the state.
He said such a measure would help students navigate peer pressure and emotional challenges associated with adolescence.
