The Governor of Osun, Adegboyega Oyetola, has said Osun’s success rate in the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) has improved significantly since 2018 as part of proof that his Administration has given education the prime place as the driver of its Development Agenda and the tool for achieving sustainable development.
Governor Oyetola disclosed this while declaring open the pre-engagement training programme for the newly-recruited 1,000 Osun teachers, at Ataoja School of Science, Osogbo on Tuesday.
Enumerating some of the modest achievements recorded by the Administration in the education sector in the last three years, Oyetola said progressive improvement has been made for students in the West African Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
He said the State had recorded progressive improvement and upped the performance from what it met in 2018 from 46.30 per cent credit pass in five subjects including Mathematics and English to 59.35 per cent in 2019 and 59.68 per cent in 2020, despite the challenges of the Covid-19 lockdown.
The Governor stated that his government has been working hard to train and re-train the teachers to be the best that they can be just as efforts are being made to ensure adequate renovation of school buildings and provision of educational materials for the students across the State.
“In line with our desire to achieve zero tolerance for indiscipline, including truancy, bullying, drug abuse and cultism, we have put stringent measures in place to ensure discipline and good school attendance.
“Our public school students are the proof of the quality of the education we provide in Osun. They have proved their mettle in Universal Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME) and have also won national awards.
“The above-mentioned policies, measures and milestones are the platforms we are welcoming you into as deliberate efforts at further improving the performances of our students and transforming our educational climate. We look forward to your contributions to building our educational edifice.
“Our dear newly-recruited teachers, you are coming into the teaching profession at a most challenging time: a time when our Administration has raised the bar of education; at a time our students have won national laurels and have proved to the nation that our public schools can compete with the best within and outside the nation; at a time the New Normal thrown up by the Covid-19 pandemic expects teachers to look beyond what they learned in their respective institutions.
“Consequently, these extant realities put a lot of responsibilities on you in terms of content and methodology so that you can meet up with the realities of contemporary times and expectations.
“In order to be relevant and to meet expectations, you will not only bring conventional requirements of diligence, discipline, hard work and commitment into your job, you will also have to tap on your creativity and innovations”, Oyetola said.
