Gov Ajimobi of Oyo State:

The need to check the poor  performance  of Oyo State students in WAEC-organised  examinations took the centre stage during Tuesday’s plenary at the  House of Assembly.

This followed a motion by Mrs Olawunmi Oladeji (LP-Ogbomoso North) and co-sponsored by Mr Olusegun Olaleye (APC-Ibadan North II).

Oladeji said that the continuous decline in the performance of the students as evidenced by the  public examination  results  in three consecutive years called for urgent attention.

”  The state came in 24th, 26th and 29th positions in 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively, coming behind other states in the Southwest,  including Lagos, Ekiti and Ondo states.

“This calls for concern and a need for a holistic approach to tackle this endemic problem.

“This poor  performance has become a major challenge in the state due to the fact that the actualisation of the national education objectives is dependent on ensuring that the talents of our citizens, including students, are fully exploited,” she said.

According to her, inadequate funding of the state-owned schools by the state government was a major factor responsible for poor  performance of students in public examinations.

In his remarks, Olaleye urged the state government to allocate and monitor funds meant for the provision of modern teaching and learning facilities in  schools.

“Empirical studies and observations have linked declining students’   performance in our schools to poor learning environment and  inadequacies of teachers.

“We need to activate and implement a plan to gradually phase out poor conditions and replace them with existing international standards,” he said.

The Chairman, House Committee on Parliamentary Matters, Mr Olusegun Ajanaku, however, said  the current challenges facing public  schools and the resultant  poor performance  of students should be blamed on previous administrations.

The house  resolved to call on the state government to introduce quality control unit  in the education  sector.

The lawmakers said  no amount of money spent on the education sector  would be justified without a quality control unit.

The Speaker, Mr Michael Adeyemo, directed that the motion be passed to the appropriate committee for further deliberations. (NAN)
BA /OJO