Teachers dare Ajimobi, refuse to obey resumption order

 

Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State

Secondary school teachers in Oyo State refused to return to schools despite the state government’s order that the schools be reopened after a month of closure.

The state governor, Abiola Ajimobi, had on Saturday through the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Toye Arulogun, directed that the schools be reopened on Monday.

The directive excluded 17 schools whose pupils were involved in the protest against the plan by the government for private partners to be involved in the management of some public secondary schools in the state.

Our correspondent, who visited some public secondary schools in Ibadan on Monday, observed that although a few pupils turned up at the schools, there were no teachers in the classrooms.

Many of the pupils were seen early in the morning at various motor parks on their way to school.

Some parents, however, refused to allow their children to go to school until labour leaders in the state and the state government settled their differences.

Some of them preferred to observe the situation on Monday before taking a decision to send their children back to school.

In some of the schools visited in Odo-Ona, Apata, Owode and Molete axis, some teachers were seen hanging around their schools but they did not stay long before leaving. The pupils also left before 11.30am.

One of the teachers who spoke on condition of anonymity said she came to the school to see if government would force them to sign an attendance register.

She said, “I am aware that labour leaders had directed that we stay at home. I respect that but I just came to study the situation and see if there would be any attendance register. Before now, such idea was proposed at the state secretariat to know workers who sympathise with labour against government directive.”

Meanwhile, the state Deputy Governor, Moses Alake, who represented the state Governor at the inauguration of a 31-member Education Reform Initiative Committee in Ibadan on Monday, said he was optimistic that the disagreement between labour and government would be resolved in a matter of days.