The Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has lamented the state of education in the country, describing it as intolerable.
The governor said this on Friday during the visit by the management of Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo to the Governor’s Office, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, the state capital.
Amosun deplored a situation where pupils sit on the floor to receive lessons and without instructional materials.
He regretted the poor communication skills of students and called for concerted efforts to redress the situation.
He described education as a tool for development, adding that his administration would do everything possible to restore the glory of the sector in Ogun State.
He said his administration had renovated 100 schools in the first phase and provided free textbooks and exercise books to all pupils of public primary and secondary schools in the state.
He regretted the situation in the past where institutions in the state did not receive subventions for up to 19 months, wondering “what manner of graduates would be produced by such schools?”
He promised to uplift the standard of higher education in the state and said private institutions should be prepared for stiff competition from government-owned schools.
Amosun also used the visit to highlight the efforts of his government in combating crime.
He said five Armoured Personnel Carriers were now at the airport with ‘clearance papers’ being processed.
He said: “We had to bring the APCs by air because of the need to curb the menace without any delay.
“We believe development can only take place when there is security.
“Banks and residents should be assured that there will be no comfort zone for robbers in this state.”
Amosun restated his administration’s determination to provide portable water, good roads and power supply in order to accelerate development of the state.
Earlier in his remarks, the President and Vice-Chancellor, Babcock University, Prof. J.A. Kayode Makinde, commended the decisions taken so far by the administration of Amosun.
“Some of the decisions may not necessarily be popular but they are statemanly. We have looked, surveyed and assessed and have seen that you are here for action and not mere presence; it’s no business as usual in Ogun,” he said.
Makinde said the school was ready to partner with the state government in the area of human capacity development.
The delegation later offered a prayer for the success of the administration.