The Oyo State Government says public schools will reopen on Monday.

It, however, excluded 17 schools which allegedly participated in a demonstration on June 6.

Mr Toye Arulogun, the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, said this on Sunday in Ibadan in a statement.

The statement said the decision to reopen the schools was in response to appeals by the Parents Teachers Association , community as well as religious leaders and traditional rulers.

The 17 affected schools are Baptist Secondary School, Senior Junior School, Oke Ado, Ansarudeen Secondary School, Liberty Road, Ansarudeen High School, Liberty Road, Ibadan Grammar School and Senior and Junior School, Molete.

Also included are Olubi Memorial Grammar School, Molete, St. Luke Grammar School, Senior and Junior School, Molete, St. Luke College, Molete and Yejide Girls Grammar School, Molete as well as Methodist Grammar School, Senior and Junior, Bodija.

Others are Methodist Secondary School, Bodija, Oba Akinyele Memorial High School, Bashorun, Idi-Ape, Ikolaba Grammar School, Agodi, Ikolaba Secondary School, Agodi, Ikolaba High School, Agodi, Lagelu Grammar School, Agugu, Okebadan High School, Oluyoro, and Ibadan Boys High School, Okebola.

According to the statement, the students of the affected schools must tender a written apology to the government through their school management.

It said that the affected schools would remain closed until their principals submitted an undertaking to the government.

The statement described the protest of June 6 as highly condemnable, saying corporate and government properties were destroyed.

“The violent activity threatened the peace and security of the state and endangered the lives of the students who participated in hostility,” it said.

The statement said that government was constrained to shut down all the public schools in the state to protect students, lives and property of the citizenry.

It said that the decision was taken by the state government in line of its primary duty of ensuring peace and safety of citizens.

The students had embarked on protest, alleging that government had sold their schools under its participatory management of schools initiative.

But the state government had denied the claim, insisting that its initiative was to boost the education sector.