Ekiti State Government has said plans are in top gear to upgrade
infrastructures in all the three Special Schools across the state.
The State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mr.
Foluso Daramola, made this known during an Assessment Tour of the
Government Special School, Ido-Ekiti and the Special School for the
Blind in Ikere-Ekiti.
The Commissioner explained that his Assessment Tour of the Schools was
at the instance of the Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, who gave this
directive, preparatory to appropriate government intervention in the
schools.
He stressed the commitment of Government towards putting the schools
in proper shape, so that teaching and learning could take place in a
more conducive and secured environment.
Mr. Foluso Daramola commended the staff of the Schools for their
diligence as well as dedication towards taking good care of the
students, in spite of their physical challenges.
The Commissioner also warned all contractors handling construction and
renovation works of Schools in the state, not to deviate from
contractual agreements on the projects, adding that any contractor
found to be cutting corners, would be blacklisted and severely
sanctioned, in accordance with extant laws of the state.
Earlier, the Principal of Special School, Ido-Ekiti, Mr. Salami Rasak,
highlighted some of the challenges facing both staff and students of
the school to include; shortage of personnel, bad condition of the
three buses in the school and escalating electricity bills amongst
others.
Mr. Salami condemned the attitude of some parents, who had abandoned
their children in the school for the past ten years, adding that many
of the parents and guardians of the students could not be traced at
the contact addresses they provided in the bio-data forms of their
children.
At the School for Blind, Ikere-Ekiti, the Principal of the School, Mr.
Omojola Ajewole, called on the state to employ sighted personnel for
effective supervision and monitoring of the students.
The Principal appealed to the State Government to upwardly review the
feeding and maintenance allowance of the students in line with present
economic realities, in order to prevent the students from being
malnourished.
The Commissioner was accompanied on the Assessment Tour by the
Technical Adviser to the Governor on Education, Dr. (Mrs.) Bimpe
Aderiye, the Permanent Secretary, Mr. James Owolabi, and Directors of
the Ministry.