By Gabriel Dike
Students of four secondary schools in Lagos State will forever remember Tuesday, January 4, 2022, when the Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Folasade Adefisayo, led managers of education in the state to visit their schools on resumption of academic activities for second term, 2021/2022 academic session.
The Lagos State education team on the visit was led by Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Adefisayo, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Mr. Abayomi Abolaji, Tutor-General/Permanent Secretary, Education District V, Mr. Olajide Charles, Executive Chairman, Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board, Mr. Wahab Alawiye-King, Tutor-General/Permanent Secretary, Education District IV, Mr. Jokotola Sunday, Tutor-General/Permanent Secretary, Education District VI, Mrs. Okelola Oludara, and Tutor-General and Permanent Secretary, Education District III, Dr. Olufolayimika Ayandele, to welcome students on the resumption of second term for the 2021/2022 academic session.
Among the schools visited were Babs Fafunwa Millennium Senior Secondary School, Ojodu, Ikeja, Babs Fafunwa Senior Grammar School, Ojodu, Ikeja, and Ojodu Junior High School, Ikeja, where two students were crushed by a truck in December 2021 and about 22 others sustained serious injuries.
The education commissioner also visited another school, Omole Junior Grammar School, Ikeja, whose four students were also injured in the December 2021 accident.
The visit to the schools aside from helping to access their readiness for resumption of academic activities, it also served as opportunity for the Lagos State Government to once again reassure the students and teachers of their safety after the December 2021 sad incident.
The signs of the sad incident were written on the faces of the students and they confirmed that they were missing the 22 injured students who are yet to resume and two slain colleagues when the education commissioner asked them about the incident.
The education commissioner and her senior colleagues in the state were given a rousing welcome by the students.
Adefisayo, flanked by other officials, urged the students to remain focused on their studies and put behind them the December 2021 incident, which she described as a difficult period, and commended the principals of the schools for their efforts during the incident.
At Babs Fafunwa Millennium Senior Secondary School, Ojodu, Babs Fafunwa Senior Grammar School, Ojodu, and Ojodu Junior High School, Ikeja, the education commissioner urged the gathering to observe a minute’s silence in honour of the departed students.
“We should not forget our compatriots who died during the unfortunate accident in December 2021. I know it is painful to have lost two colleagues. I urge you to forge ahead with your studies and do your parents, school and the state proud.’’
She urged the students to remain focused and work hard to achieve success in life, adding, “I look forward to seeing you at the top level. Do well in your examinations, that is the only way you can honour your parents and dead colleagues.”
Adefisayo confirmed that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu picked the medical bills of the injured students and disclosed that 20 students have been discharged while two are still in the hospital.
The education commissioner informed the students that Governor Sanwo-Olu would continue to accord education top priority, and urged them to avoid social vices.
She acknowledged the contributions of teachers in the state and urged them to continue to put in their best in bringing out outstanding performance from their students in public exams.
The Tutor-General/Permanent Secretary, Education District 6, Mrs. Okelola Oludara, welcomed the students back to the second term of the 2020/2021 academic session and urged them to put the December 2021 incident behind and focus on their forthcoming examination.
Oludara charged the students to steer clear of things that would put them in trouble or truncate their education, and reminded the students that they were accountable to themselves in everything.
She thanked Sanwo-Olu for according education top priority and acknowledged the role the commissioner played during the December 2021 incident.
“When you close from school, go home. No one will truncate your life. You are all stars and continue to shrine. God will take you to the next level.”
In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Education, Mr. Abolaji, said the state’s education managers, led by the commissioner for education, visited schools whose students were affected in the December 2021 incident to assure the students and teachers of their safety and wellbeing.
Abolaji disclosed that Sanwo-Olu was committed to funding education and that it was evident in the huge allocation to the sector in the 2022 budget. He assured stakeholders of better performance of students in the May/June West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), stressing “last year we moved from 43 per cent to 78 per cent and hopefully we expect a better result in 2022.’’
The Executive Chairman, Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Mr. Wahab Alawiye-King, advised the students to avoid anti-social behaviour and concentrate on their books.
He urged the returning students to put behind them the incident of December 2021 and focus on their education. He assured them that measures have been put in place to ensure their safety in schools.
Principal of Babs Fafunwa Millennium Secondary School, Mr. Ayobami Madehin, described the occasion as the biggest visit in the history of the school.
In all the schools visited, the students assured the education commissioner and her team of their good conduct and focus on their studies.
