The Osun Commissioner for Education, Mr Dipo Eluwole, has said that over 11,000 out-of-school children re-enrolled in public schools in 2024. The commissioner attributed the re-enrollment to improvements in education infrastructure, teaching, and the re-introduction of the school feeding program.
In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Osogbo on Friday, Eluwole said that the activities of previous governments led to many pupils and students dropping out of schools.
He explained that when previous administrations built “mega schools,” they abandoned schools closer to the people. This forced many pupils and students to take buses or other transportation to school, which was a challenge in an agrarian state where many children had to hawk to support their parents.
“And for poor households and families that are struggling to eat, paying transport to go to the mega schools was a lot and this forced a lot of the parents to stop sending their wards to school altogether.
“However, when Gov. Ademola Adeleke came into office, he made it a task to ensure these children return back to school.
“Mr governor reintroduced the free school feeding programme and rehabilitated and reconstructed abandon nearby schools for these out-of-school students, which is why a lot of them are going back to school now,” the commissioner said.
Eluwole said that as at the last count, 203,739 pupils/students were being fed in 1,850 primary schopls across the state.
He said that the Osun school feeding programme, which the Federal Government is planning to adopt, has also provided jobs for 2,470 food vendors in the state.
Also, Eluwole said that his ministry has compelled all public schools in the state to start farming, “planting what they will be consuming.”
“The instruction to them is grow what you eat, eat what you grow,” the commissioner said.
Eluwole said that the education ministry was partnering with the ministry of agriculture to provide free seedlings and tractors for schools with vast land to help them plough and cultivate their land
