Transforming the education sector in Osun state, priorities for the next administration
By Dr. Dipo Awojide Three years ago, 1,500 Teachers were sacked by the Governor Ademola Adeleke led administration in Osun State. Subsequently, the administration promised to recruit 5,000 new Teachers.
By Dr. Dipo Awojide
Three years ago, 1,500 Teachers were sacked by the Governor Ademola Adeleke led administration in Osun State. Subsequently, the administration promised to recruit 5,000 new Teachers. Just this week, the Osun State Government released the names of 526 successful candidates who were invited to pick up their appointment letters after the recruitment exercise which took three years.
One begins to wonder, why now, few months to the next Gubernatorial Election in Osun State? Before I proceed, I should note that I spent almost 15 years in Academia, as a PhD student and Graduate Teaching Assistant from 2011-2015, as a Lecturer from 2015-2019, then a Senior Lecturer from 2019-2023 at Nottingham Trent University and Sheffield Hallam University, before switching to Management Consulting. I have followed the Education Sector very closely and with keen interest.
As a matter of fact, I have been very critical of the lack of maximum effort in resolving the numerous challenges in the Education Sector in Nigeria. I was a fierce critic of Mallam Adamu Adamu who served as Nigeria's Minister of Education from 2015 to 2023. I was also critical of the performance of Professor Tahir Mamman who served as Minister of Education from August 2023 to October 2024 under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s led administration. Besides being critical, I frequently wrote articles and made innovative and realistic recommendations, some of which were adopted and implemented by some State Governments.
I am glad to see that the current Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa is moving in the right direction by leading significant reforms in the Nigerian Education Sector. Indeed, he has helped to resolve the age long annual ASUU strikes which some of us suffered while at university during President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration.
I always wait for an administration to settle down before I start criticising or offering opinions on their performance, especially as relates to the Education Sector. As such, I was quiet for a long time, observing the actions and inactions of the Governor Ademola Adeleke led administration.
At the beginning of their administration in November 2022, I expected that they would prioritise the Education Sector and introduce some urgently needed legacy reforms. Unfortunately, and on the basis of the evidence currently available, it seems fair to suggest that this has not been the case. It is sad to conclude that the Osun State Government has been clueless in its management of the Education Sector. There is overwhelming evidence in the last three years corroborating this opinion.
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Osun State now requires a Transformational Government that will prioritise the Education Sector and deliver significant wins for the populace. To achieve this transformation in the Education Sector, the next administration should consider some of these practical and forwardlooking policy ideas as a matter of urgency once inaugurated in November 2026.
Invest in Infrastructural Development of Schools – The Education Sector in Osun State suffers from infrastructural deficit. As such, one of the key priorities of the next administration should be a comprehensive school infrastructure renewal. The next government should immediately launch a phased programme to renovate dilapidated classrooms, laboratories (where they exist), and libraries across all the Local Government Areas of the State.
It would help Teachers and students if clean water, decent toilets, sanitation, and safe learning environments were prioritised for all Primary and Secondary Schools across Osun State.
Train and Retrain Teachers – I have written about this several times on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn and on several national dallies because teaching is a noble professional and staying updated is of significant importance. I have also previously noted that the personal and professional development of Teachers should be a key priority for all State Governments. We should not allow our students to be taught by unqualified or incompetent Teachers who are stuck in the past. Training and retraining of Teachers and Administrators should be a must.
Prioritise the Welfare of Teachers – The next administration should consider introducing performance-based incentives and career progression pathways for Teachers in Osun State. Salaries and other benefits must be paid on time, and exceptional performance should be rewarded annually. This will help to further motivate Teachers to do their job.
Curriculum Refresh for Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) – It will make a significant difference if the next administration focuses on curriculum refresh and modern pedagogy, especially for Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) subjects. The administration can go as far as creating STEM model schools in each Senatorial District as well as organising statewide STEM competitions and mentorship programmes on an annual basis.
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Promote Digital and Technology Literacy: The next administration in Osun State should consider investing significantly on digital and tech literacy, amongst other core hands-on subject areas like entrepreneurship and financial literacy
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These five ideas highlighted above are not exhaustive. There are so many more progressive ideas that can be implemented to transform the Osun State Education Sector. Some of these include:
Establishing an Osun digital learning portal with curriculum aligned content
Equipping Schools with smart classrooms, tablets, and internet access
Creating an electronic database for all students in Primary and Secondary Schools
Creating an attendance and truancy policy
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Setting up ‘Sure Start’ Centres for Pre-Primary Education
Designing a health and safety policy
Creating a special education needs policy for students with learning disabilities
I should conclude by stating that basic education cannot wait, as such we need to fix Public Schools in Osun State. All our children must go to School, and these Schools should be decent and future-proof. Teaching delivery should be done by competent and well-motivated Teachers. Moreover, Administrators (Principals, Vice Principals, etc) must be well looked after by the next administration.
The next administration must be different from the current which has shown that the Education Sector is of little or no importance to them.
Dr Dipo Awojide, a Chartered Management Consultant leading Operational and Process Improvements in the UK Defence & Security Industry, is from Ayedaade Local Government, Osun state.
