Osun State and Mega Schools – By P. Tade Adekunle
It is now in the public domain the intention of the government of Osun State under the leadership of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola to demolish some of the dilapidated primary and secondary schools in Osun state. By this, the state government intends to upgrade the educational infrastructural standards of the various schools within the state. With respect to this laudable idea therefore, schools within the state has been identified for total upgrading in terms of facilities and construction of new structures. In the light of this, some schools will become mega schools with students’ population of not less than three thousand!
That the structures and facilities have been neglected over the years is an understatement. Most of the buildings under which students are supposed to be learning are inhabitable. Budget has been allocated year in year out for the refurbishment of most of these structures and nothing has been done. So we really need to commend Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola’s government for this laudable initiative.
However, as laudable as the idea might seems, there are still some views that government still need to take on board to make the whole concept more robust. The truth is nobody has a monopoly of knowledge or wisdom and this is not limited to our elected representatives and political appointees alone, as the government of Osun state will want us to accept. Other stakeholders need to make their points and government should take them on board as well if truly we are in democratic setting. A project of this magnitude that will involve spending over seven hundred million naira in each school must try as much as possible not to take care of only today but also withstand the test of time and solve challenges in the future.
In this regard therefore, the government of Ogbeni Aregbesola still needs to consult beyond the political appointees, political jobbers as well as the civil servants that have ‘connived’ to neglect the structures in the past.
The Osun state mega school concept as explained is to have three schools in one with different teachers, renovate existing structures and build new structures to accommodate the three thousand pupils to be cramped into the existing school premise. In line with this concept therefore, mega libraries, mega laboratories etc will be constructed which the over three thousand students within the school premise will share.
The implication of having three thousand pupils in an existing school premise needs to be critically looked at. Be it three schools in one does not really hold water. In order to solve a particular challenge now, government must not be seen to create a disaster for the future.
Having three thousand students on one premise as it is will create unforeseen problems in future. The number is too huge to check truancy. This is the kind of number that will breed cultism, drugs, hooliganism and other societal vices too numerous to list. In attempting to solve one problem, government should not create a monstrous challenge for the future. The students will be engaging in uncontrollable sexual practices with terrible consequences; there will be lots of deadly fights due to class warfare and envy. How does the three schools manage the recreational facilities, conveniences etc for over three thousand students? It may be true that some of these vices currently exist but it will increase and reach unprecedented height with the number proposed for the mega schools.
If as usual and as suspected this mega school concept is been copied from abroad, can the right model please be copied and executed? Even in the United States of America where our politicians like to quote and copy from, the public are kicking against creating mega schools. In India where the idea first stated, the whole concept has been discarded not only because it did not meet UNESCO standard but also it created more problems than solutions. Certainly Osun state concept is far from meeting the UNESCO concept!
The arguments over there, which can also apply to Osun state and are quite apt among others, are; research has shown that smaller schools’ students compared to mega school students have better grades, improved attendance, greater safety and are less violence. Above all, mega schools deter students from engaging in extracurricular and leadership activities. In fact, research has shown that, apart from mega schools having negative effects on students/teachers relationship, the concept will also increase administrative burdens and consume more money in the short and long term compared to smaller schools, as they exist now. In summary, mega schools will not serve the interest of students who should be the primary focus!
Furthermore, in trying to solve educational challenges, government must to be seen not to create more ecological challenges. For example, areas that usually see traffic of less than one thousand pupils per day suddenly there is now over two hundred percent surge without improvement in facilities around the area.
The more reason government still needs to consult other stakeholders and explore other options like;
Private schools abound in the state and other states of the federation. Government should consider as a matter of priority handing over some of the schools forcefully taken by past government to the rightful owners. Other states are doing it and the result has been positive. Fortunately, Ogbeni Aregbesola served in the cabinet of Bola Tinubu when he handed schools back to the rightful owners in Lagos state. If Osun state government can do this, the new owners will renovate some of the old structures, new structures and other facilities will be added and above all the government would have saved some money from this gesture to focus on the remaining public schools.
Virgin land – Building a mega school on existing structures seems to be the easy way out and this is the route government should not follow. If government really wants to have its own modern, amiable and friendly learning environment, the right thing is to seek out virgin land and build new schools. Manageable schools not mega schools. Rehabilitate the old schools after considering point one above and build new schools on virgin land. Once again, certainly not one that will accommodate over three thousand students.
Furthermore, training and re-training for all the teachers at various levels will go a long way to ensure that the products the public schools are turning out can compete favourably with their counterparts in the private schools. Mega schools will not and cannot guarantee this!
Government can use the limited resources available to improve on existing schools facilities without converting them to mega schools or turning them to modern motor parks! Somebody’s legacy!
Above all, over the years some of these schools that will be merged have created names for themselves beyond the shore of the state. They are brands in their own rights. These brands cannot just be wished away and the legacy built over the years cannot just be wiped out from a misconceived concept in the name of mega schools.
We pray and hope that it is not the figure been quoted to be spent on this project that has become the attraction for some advisers and contractors; the Governor should please take in more views from other stakeholders and have a rethink on the implication of this concept on future generation of students, the parents, government and the environment.
A good legacy is one that can last and stand the test of time!
TADE ADEKUNLE
Culled from Daily Post
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That is great sir. My contribution is that d retired teachers should be replaced wit qualified and competent teachers, and this could be done if and only if TEPO does not consider any other category but only the qualified applicants so this great plan of yours will work out successfully. The God almigthy will empower you the more. Amen
As far as am concerned, the issue of having a model school is not a bad thing, but why the merge if and only if Mr gov can justify the merge which we all know he cannot, chief Obafemi Awolowo the claimed role model of Mr gov am sure if alive today will kick against this opinion. Mr gov should evaluate what will be the future effect of this action. that foresight that chief Obafemi had that make people to consider him an exemplary leader. I urge Mr gov to look into this matter once again and have a rethink so as to not disappoint the trust we have in him
I am sure the state of Osun is one of the least paid state from federal allocations. I alsoknow that Osun is a civil service state with near to nothing in industrial presence, with non present tourisim industry, an agrarian state with empty farms and abandoned structures… The funds are not just there, except loans which at their interest rates is a decent way of eating our future today.
If this Is the kind of source(es) this goverment wants to rely on to continue to build mega schools, a project to house about three thousand students, with all tge attendand required facilities up to unesco standards, I am not in support. The funds are not there, let us not deceive ourselves.
These projects will soon be abandoned half way after Ogbeni Aregbesola’s praise singers had fineshed their anticipated jumbo earnings from the projects construction. They will definitely turn around to castigate Aregbesola that he didn’t fund the projects to completion, and that the whole thing was not well thought out.
Let Ogbeni beware of praise singers, opportunists and sycophants surrounding him.
They will not be remembered as failures afterwards, only Aregbesola’s name will be indellibly tainted.
Ogbeni Aregbesola needs to outgrow the student activism in him. Listen to the words of elders even when not directed at you, that is wisdom. Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is not a stupid man. He severally condemned mega schools project in ondo state. Only a stupid mind will be unable to relate the well articulated reasons given by Asiwaju to the realities in Osun state. A word is enough for the wise.
I love Aregbesola, but I love the people more, with tge power of my vote, I will decide Osun’ s future when the time comes.
The kick against the Mega school is well understand, but i think there is need for change. Someone talked about capital to do these projects, I trust this government and am sure everything about the Capital must have been resorted so the issue about the Project abandoned after sometimes is total rubbish!!
The well thought out and fearless contribution of Comrade Tade Adekunle is an epitome of bravery.
One view of Comrade Adekunle that I do not support is privatisation of public schools. I will elucidate this in some other forum or article.
There are many factors mitigating against the short and or long term success of the concept of mega schools in the state of Osun or anywhere else in Nigeria. Nigeria is a country of corrupt minds and corrupt practices with impunity. Maintenance is a big issue we do not pay attention to. We are unable to maintain small schools. We cannot maintain mega schools. Even in advanced countries, where corruption has been significantly controlled, mega school concept is not a sellable idea that is practically feasible. In the USA, the focus now is small and manageable school environment with small classes that afford maximum attention to individual student. Mega school concept stands for everything opposite this global modern educational concept.
His Excellency, Governor Aregbesola and the Honorable Commissioner for Education of the State of Osun, in the person of her Excellency, Dept. Gov. Grace Tomori, truly mean well for the state of Osun and her people. The idea of mega school might have been born out of these progressive mindsets of these leaders. The execution and sustenance of the concept however cannot pass the test of time as enumerated by Comrade Adekunle and many other critics of this otherwise laudable gesture.
Youths are the most difficult set of human beings to manage, especially when they are in their teens. Teenage years are the periods of risk takings and serious vulnerabilities to peer pressures and other influences. The more cramped-up students’ or teenagers’ population is, the higher the negative peers’ influences and the more difficult it is to manage individual student/teenager. The result of mega school concept, for this reason alone, is disaster, especially when there is a student protest.
Even if the administration of His Excellency, Gov Aregbesola, is able to muscle the complex bureaucratic team of the state to ensure success of this mega schools concept during the remaining part of his eight year tenure in the state of Osun as the executive governor, our precedence proves beyond reasonable doubt that this legacy shall soon become an eyesore of the state in the near future for many reasons.
One good example of such brilliant ideas that ended up being killed by our system was the legacy left by Uncle Bola Ige. As a living beneficiary of the reformational educational prowess of Chief Bola Ige as the Executive Gov of the old Oyo State, to which the current state of Osun belonged, I remember vividly how our secondary school system was in those early 1980s as compared to the ruins that came out of that legacy after Chief Bola Ige departed the scene. Even Chief Bisi Akande, who was a member of the cabinet of Chief Bola Ige when that brilliant idea was born, could not revive the old days’ glory from the rot he met in the system when he became the governor of Osun State barely a decade after Gov Bola Ige left the stage.
More to say on this ——!
Niyi Adebisi.
Kudos to every contributor to this volatile policy that can make or mar the future of great generations to come. My advice to Aregbesola is to watch her back all the time. The forces he’s contending with, include soldiers that he forcefully upstaged from the seat of power legally. Soldiers don’t run away from battles! Soldiers don’t accept defeats! Soldiers know thousands of ways to win wars because to them, “the end justifies the means”. I believe the men of yesterday’s power have planted moles in his administration to plot his failures. Aregbesola should therefore be very watchful of his actions. Like someone has said here, at the end of the day, he would bear the brunts.
School is not the physical structure but the knowledge bequethed.
Many great minds that have shaped the world never passed through walled classrooms. Therefore Gov. Aregbesola should exploit cheaper methods to redirect the attainment of good skills from Osun schools. He should rather divert energies to empowering the teachers and changing the contents as he’s doing towards meeting the challenges of this era and futuristic times.
Classrooms are getting smaller because of online facilities all over the developed world. Don’t ever think about making student walk too many kilometres to attend classes. It is punitive and absurd. Please avoid it.
High school and Technical schools graduates should be able to become inventor of machine components, computer wares and chips, furniture classics and designs, household utensils, etc. This is the trends in the emerging economies. That is the way to true transformation, not infrastructures that can collapse with climatic deluge.
Gov. Aregbesola, please don’t play to the dictate of the enemies wining and dining with you. You are already a man destined for history. Harvest the crops that will position you on the good side of history. Don’t toy with good education, holistically. May God Almighty guides you.
Tade Adekunle’s contribution to this divisive debate is very constructive, I hope the powers that be in the state can spare some time to reflect on the issues he raised. I am not completely against the concept of mega schools, if it is clear that it would result in progress. I am not that bothered if my alma mata is sacrificed, as long as the end state is a better system for future generations. Just because I attended a particular school years ago does not mean that it should remain forever. On the flip side, only good change should be promoted. I will be terribly upset if my alma mata disappears and something worse replaces it.
The closest to mega schools here in the UK are academies. Although the jury is out on academies here, one can understand the motivation behind it. The idea behind academies is that school heads who have good track records can take over failing schools and bring their leadership in to transform them. Of course the devil is in the details, but it is not difficult to see how academies can lead to improvement of the plight of the students.
What is baffling about mega schools implementation in Osun state is that unlike academies, built around school heads with excellent track record, it revolves around a massive infrastructure projects. Yes, the consensus of opinion is that Osun state government is progressive, nevertheless we need more clarity about how this project will work.
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There all,
I disagree with all of you, who I can call armchair critics about the building of Mega School in Osun state. Some of you are giving example one of which I quote here: “Even in advanced countries, where corruption has been significantly controlled, mega school concept is not a sellable idea that is practically feasible. In the USA, the focus now is small and manageable school environment with small classes that afford maximum attention to individual student.” I respectively disagree on this example.
I live in US and my kids to go school here. Mega school are the order of the day. For example, in Dekalb County, a suburb of Atlanta, all Middle and High school are Mega schools. The list include Tucker Middle school, which was opened in 2004 and has a population of 1000 plus students. A new Tucker High School was opened in 2011 after the old one was tore down and it housed about 1200 plus students. These are facts and not a sentiments. And this is just one example, the same story can be found in Atlanta public school, Clayton, Cobb and Gwinnette counties. My question to you all is this: Which one will you prefer? A governor building a mega school or a governor building stadiums. Which one will the masses and grassroots will directly benefit from. Most of you are just joining the bandwagon to condemn the good work of a visionary governor of Aregbesola.
I belief that the same thing were said when the late sage Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Chief Adekunle Ajasin were laying the foundation for free education in the old Western region. It is okay to criticize, but make sure your criticism is genuine and is not based on sentiment and being economical with the truth. Finally, I challenge any of you to debate who can tell me that he did not benefit from free education instituted by chief Awolowo and his team. May their souls rest in perfect peace.
Abo mi re o. E ku ikale.
Olaniyi Oladapo Atlanta USA
Hello Mr. Olaniyi Oladapo,
As you know, Gov Aregbesola is, and was, my candidate. You also know that I live in Atlanta metropolitan area and I am very familiar with the school system in Atlanta. In addition, you may or may not know that I specifically travelled to Nigeria to cast my vote for Gov Aregbesola in 2007 and I travel home every time there is election of importance to cast my vote for progressive candidates. In addition, I am a card carry member of the ACN (old or new).
Having revealing my identity, your argument about the USA schools being “Mega School” is far from being the concept I understand the “Mega Schools” that are being proposed in the state of Osun are. You cited schools with population of 1000 to 1200 students. We must remember that our Mega School’s concept in the state of Osun is about 3000 students in a school – more than twice the maximum population you quoted for the USA schools. The second point is that the Atlanta schools that you cited, you forgot to state the number of students per teacher, you did not mention the footage of each of the classes let alone mentioning the square footages of the schools you referred to. For the sake of those that may not know, classrooms in Atlanta area school may very pass for what we consider as conference rooms and student per class. Did you forget to mention the number of toilets/bathroom per students and the stability of electric power and water supply in those Atlanta schools to ensure that neither the students nor the non-students feel crowded up? What about security? You do know how many police officer with their individual official vehicles that patrol such schools on regular basis to ensure that security and law and order are maintained in such a way that if there is any civil disturbance, such would be controlled professionally within minutes with little or no undue force. Can you say the same with our security situation and or infrastructural sophistication any where in Nigeria?
As you may know, I graduated from the St. Charles Grammar School, Osogbo. As at then the population of all of us who happened to be students of the St. Charles at the time was about 1000 from form one to form five. By your definition, St. Charles iwas already a “Mega School” even before the current hotly debated Mega Schools concept surfaced. By the concept of the Mega School being proposed in Osun State however, the St. Charles is nothing close to the expected standard and it is going to be destroyed and or restructured to pave way for another Mega School, the definition of which is totally different from your cited “Mega Schools” in Atlanta area.
If you read my comment very well, I categorically stated that the current administration might be able to make this concept successful for a while and or beyond the eight-year rein of the Governor. Our culture however has shown beyond reasonable doubt that such concept shall be difficult, if not impossible, to sustain soon after the original architect of that concept, the current executive governor, departs the stage of governance. I cited the case of the free education of our sage, Chief Bola Ige and how I benefited immensely from it. I also reminded us what was left of this visionary project after Chief Bola Ige departed the stage.
It is undoubtedly true that Governor Aregbesola has set his name in gold in the anal of history of Osun State in terms of performance. As students of democracy and freedom of speech however, we should not be afraid of commenting on what we believe to have potential negative consequence among our collective steps. We should remember that this is democracy. We all elected in Governor Aregbesola. His success or failure is our collective responsibility. If he is successful, we are all successful. If otherwise however, we shall all bare the brunt. When comparing and contrasting, what Governor Aregbesola has achieved within the last three years as compared what was destroyed in about eight years prior to is tenure, the difference is clear. We should not allow such success to becloud our judgment or gag us whenever we have observations that are concerning.
It is not enough to embark on a project that will survive one or few administration. It is important for us to consider the likes of destroyers that took the stage before Gov Aregbesola and consider such in our plan for posterity’s sake. It is the elders like you that say “ti a ba ma ba esu jeun, sibi wa gbodo gun”. Meaning, any policy that we plan for our future generation must put into consideration the possibility of non-progressives that may take over the mantle of leadership of the state sometimes in the future. As a chess player, I believe that when you are planning to win, you must also plan how to stalemate if winning is impossible. In other words, our policies that must stand the test of time must not only consider the progressives being in power alone, such policies must also put into consideration the sustenance of such project(s) even if it falls in the hands of not so progressive.
I rest my case.
Niyi Adebisi
Dear Anonymous Olaniyi Oladapo, thanks for your contributions.
I only want you to take a step further in the examples you have given by telling us how many students are in each class room in each of the mega schools housing 1000 or 1200 students that you cited as example. How many librariers, toilets and their capacities, laboratories, offices, security, transport system for the students to go to the school and return, and other services around the mega schools. This will better assist the government of state of Osun to know what they should multiply plans for each one of these by three since they plan to house 3000 students under one roof.
Transport will be very essential because what will a poor student made to treck several kilometers to and from Mega school learn? How do we encourage them not to drop out of school?
Also help us get a bit about the budget used to run the mega schools, it will also help our government to look for more loans to run the schools that they are planning to build so that they won’t be disasters in waiting. I am sure the budget for construction and running of each of those mega schools you mentioned in the USA will eat a chunk off our state of Osun’s total budget.
You also mentioned that the schools were built some years ago, some opened in 2004, that is good. You will do better to help convince Osun state govt to write a new constitution for the state that will make subsequent administrations to continue with this projects and maintain them. This is necessary because here in Nigeria, every administration brings its own new idea(s) rather than continue with what is on ground. Here, I will cite examples for you. Ogbeni Aregbesola’s policies now are a total deviation from Oyinlola’s likewise it takes no semblance to that of Akande’s policies, neither did Adeleke, Oluloyo, and Bola Ige’s policies have any common ground. That predicts what will happen to the present idea when another govt comes into power in just a matter of years, even if its from the same political party, the idea can be jetitioned and we will have the ambience of abandoned structures once again. Monumental wastes.
I sincerely pray and hope these views of mine about this mega schl project will not come to pass, that is why I voice my reservations now for those in govt to plan on how to avoid its coming to pass.
I pray for motherland.
Adeniyi
I thank all d commentators, i know al is 4 d progrez of our state. My own contributn goes 4 what is happening presently. Our students especially those dat wl start their National Exam next month ar laking teachers. Many of our students hv not done anytin reasonable this term in some subjects due 2 d mass retirement. My suprise is that d principals nd d teachers are just keeping silent on this issue. I want 2 advice our Commissioner of Education herself 2 go out 2 our secondary schools especially those in d villages and try 2 check d school note of d students to comfirm what i’m saying 4 this is what i have seen by myself. Secondly,i pled 2 our able gov- Ogbeni Aregbe 2 let d ongoing recruitment dat TEPO is conducting be fast and only base on d merit 2 give our students d best. This is only what can stop d disgrace in our schools. Pls sir, replace d retired teachers in time. God bless.
after 1 week my husband was down 5.3 lbs .!! I know that a lot of this weight is h2o body weight and the fat loss will slow down but I am psyched to have such a great to start with few days!! I can’t wait to see my results after a full 7 days!