Date: 2019-07-24

Education stakeholders in Kwara state have called the attention of the state government to dilapidated infrastructure and congestion in classrooms due to an overpopulation of students in most public schools in the state.

Speaking with journalists in Ilorin on Wednesday during the 50th anniversary of the Cherubim and Seraphim College, Sabo Oke, Ilorin, the Head, Cherubim and Seraphim Movement Church Worldwide, Most Reverend Samuel Adefila Abidoye, said that the situation had hampered teaching and learning environment in the schools.

"In as much as we appreciate Kwara state government in grant-aiding the schools in accordance with the edict during the military era, which gave the government the opportunity to pay the salaries of full-time staff, but apart from the payment, there has not been any contribution of note from the government in respect of physical development which had made the existing building to be dilapidated as well as made our classes to be congested by having over 100 students in a classroom. How on earth will a teacher be able to teach conveniently and the students assimilate teachings"?, he asked rhetorically.

The octogenarian church leader also said that the state government should consider returning mission schools to original owners, "as it is done in other states for effective management and development".

Reacting to a recent religious crisis in a secondary school in the state, Reverend Adefila advised the government to allow religious tolerance in schools, saying that various mission schools should be allowed to practise their religious belief in their schools without interference from external bodies.

The cleric, who called on the federal government to find a lasting solution to insecurity challenges in parts of the country, said that there should not be any sacred cow in any section of the country.

"Issues of kidnappings and killings in the country have left citizens with one eye closed whenever they go to bed. The abduction and the killings are no longer restricted to a part of the country as it has gradually spread to every part of the geopolitical zones of the nation.

"The security of this nation is now the concern of all. Nobody can say where next. The security forces in the country seem not to be in charge any longer. If care is not taken, these crises may not end well for us. We do not pray for another civil war", he said.