SOJI AJIBOLA, Ibadan
Oyo State Government says it has enrolled no fewer than 70,000 pupils in public primary schools across the state in the last two years.
The Executive Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board, Dr Nureni Adeniran disclosed this in an interview with newsmen on the achievements of the present administration in the education sector.
He stated that when the present administration came on board there was decline in enrolment of pupils in public primary schools, but the government’s free education policy programme has changed the trajectory.
According to him, “When we came on board two years ago, there were about 383,000 pupils in public primary schools, but as at the last count we had about 456,000 pupils in public primary schools.
“This means that those children that would have been out of school are now attracted back into the classroom.
“They are attracted back to school for various reasons such as end to discrimination along the line of economic status of parents and the transformational development going on in the schools.”
Adeniran attributed the improvements to increased budgetary allocation to the sector as well as timely payment of counterpart funds to the Universal Basic Education Commission.
He said: “We also need to say that not less than 23 per cent of Oyo State’s annual budget is now dedicated to the education sector.
“It is unprecedented, because in the past, there used to be three per cent or five per cent budgetary allocation to education.
“This is a clear departure from what used to be.”