OYO STATE PUBLIC SCHOOL PRIVATIZATION INITIATIVE: A DRIVE TOWARDS COLLAPSE OF EDUCATION IN OYO STATE AND STRANGULATION OF THE POOR TO ILLITERACY.

I want to start by saying that the primary reason for the existence of government is the welfare of the people in terms of education, security of lives, provision of basic amenities, shelter and clothing if possible to the core poor and every other thing is secondary. No government that tries making primary duty secondary and secondary duty primary, succeeds. 

Of all the primary duties of the government, education is sacrosanct to the liberation of the people and mental empowerment. If it cant be made to be free, it should be made to be affordable as governments success is key to provision of services and not profit making. If the state cannot manage the public schools again, it should humbly give the schools back to their original owners. There are missionary schools among these public schools and during the time of baba awolowo that these people deceitfully claimed to be following, education up to secondary school was totally free and many among them benefitted even on scholarship to University level. They had almost everything academics on a plata of gold, even free feeding. So, instead of privatising, they should reduce their work load by returning some of the schools to their original owners and focus on the ones rightly established by the government.

The government of Oyo state from all indication has seen how lucrative the private school business in the state has been. Therefore, I am seeing complacency on the part of the government and the private school owners and this may be totally detrimental to the private school business initiative in Oyo state if they try bite more than they can chew. Working parents only send their wards to where they can afford in an economy such as ours that the public service has totally failed.

The private school owners and their accomplice in the government  should think more of the present economic recession as many banks would never be interested in giving out a bad loan. May parent's are facing challenges and those working are not getting regular salaries. Even some civil servants that own private school are going to remain shut up when the multiplier effect of such decision start telling on the state. The government cannot be semantically hiding from it's constitutional duty to the people especially that which an oath was swore to.

In Oyo State and even the nation as a whole,Some civil servants are so rich that they prefer that the government collapses so that service delivery to the people stops and capitalist profit making idea sets in. I dey laugh! Only a greedy and clueless group of people think in this way especially when it is constitutionally stated that primary education is the duty of government and must be free while secondary education must be affordable especially to the poor. Thinking you will have more pupils after the state privatisation program is a big delusional step that would be historical in Oyo state considering the close proximity of the state to other southwestern state and how diverse and intertwined our livelihood in southwest is.

Aside from returning those schools to the original owners, I would have preferred the government spare head an old students initiative that would have been a pace setting drive in ensuring that people who have become captain in their chosen fields but with root in most of these schools come in by way of appreciation and start contributing either monetarily or in terms of projects to their alma matter. More or less like a public private partnership that is not profit driven and will never be contrary to the establish public service intervention on education in the state.

The government of oyo state must know that many families in southwest are state-crossed, having families all around other south west states with high possibilities of massive and aggressive migration to other state for schooling with ease. So, I foresee a total collapse of educational system in Oyo state especially bothering on the fact that many private schools are mere money making establishment without any academic impact on the school going children if this public school privatization comes to reality.

Sustainable educational policy in a rich nation of poor people is the best legacy any government can give its people.

A stitch in time, saves nine.

Oyo o in baje o!!

God bless Oyo State.

Akande Akin Sanyaolu.