Osun Govt Allegedly Neglects Special Needs Schools

• As Individuals Pay To Hire Teachers

Special Needs schools in Osun State are currently in a dire situation due to lack of premium attention from the state government.

These problems according to findings by OSUN DEFENDER ranges from lack of teachers and deplorable condition of school buildings.

In Baptist Grammar School, Iwo, it was learnt that only two sign language interpreters who are not employed by the government are currently available in the school. Their salaries according to sources are paid by some individuals in the last 8 years.

However, the medium gathered that the state government last year engaged 23 special needs teachers which is far below the required numbers.

Also, barely two years after the Federal Government handed over the Model Smart School, Alekuwodo to the Osun State Government, the school has allegedly suffered neglect.

The school, a project of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), was founded on September 18, 2023 and handed over to the state government under State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).

According to a release by the Team Lead, One House Development Initiative, Tunbosun Olabomi, the school is in need of more special needs teachers while the equipment need to be put to use.

Olabomi claimed that some of the buildings in the school do not seem to be in excellent conditions with roofs and ceilings out of place.

A copy of the statement made available to OSUN DEFENDER reads partly: “We paid a visit to the UBEC Model Smart School, Alekuwodo, after we were informed about its existence and that it was a school for persons with special needs and we wanted to learn about how the school functions, the facilities available and the provision it has for students with special needs. It turns out that it is NOT just a school for persons with special needs but an integrated smart technology-based school with facilities for the deaf.

“The school was founded on the 18th of Sept., 2023 and it was designed to be a technology-based digital school. The school takes in Early Child Care and Development (ECCDE) 1 to 2, primaries 1 to 4 and JSS 1 to 2. For the special needs’ education, the school takes ECCDE Special 1 to 2 and primary special. The school has 3 sections which are the ECCDE which is led by the ECCDE Head, the primary session which is headed by the headmaster and the secondary session which is headed by the principal.

“Some of the facilities available are the interactive boards, tablets, laptop computers and projectors. The mode of teaching is blended (traditional and online) and the students engage in what is called, ‘Station Rotation Method’ to guarantee that every child is carried along in every form of learning.

“Entrance examinations are taken online though there are provisions for students who may not have been computer literate before taking the entrance examinations.

“It is worthy of note that the Federal government built it up through UBEC and handed it over to the state under SUBEB. Advertisement for new intakes are made on radio in August and the last form was for #1,000 only. The Fed. govt. is said to have put it out for free but each student is to pay a token of #5,000 to cover for the data used by the teachers to prepare their lessons and teach them while the P.T.A also takes #1,000 as Education Trust Levy.

“Some challenges we found is that some of the buildings do not seem to be in excellent conditions with roofs and ceilings out of place.

“Digital equipment were not in use at the time of our visit

“There is a lack of special needs teachers.

The NGO however recommended that “the Osun State Government to take ownership of this school in running and maintaining it.

“The setting up of a State School Maintenance Agency with a routine maintenance framework.

“The refurbishing of poor facilities and recruitment and training of more special teachers with worthwhile incentives.”

Reacting to the NGO’s findings, the SUBEB chairman, Hon. Ibukun Fadipe described it as fake, saying there are more than enough special needs teachers in the school.

The chairman stated this in a telephone interview with OSUN DEFENDER on Wednesday.

Fadipe noted that he had at the same time committed his personal resources to the school by connecting the electric transformer to the grid. He however agreed to the conditions of some of the buildings in the school while attributing it to the poor work by the contractor who handled the project.

He added that the renovation work of the school has been included in the ongoing infrastructure plan of the state government.