The governor of the South-Western State of Ondo State has reacted to widespread insinuations that he has stopped free education in the state.
Rotimi Akeredolu
Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, the Ondo State Governor, has denied the report that his administration has stopped free education for the students of public schools in the state.
According to Punch Metro, a communiqué issued at the end of the 2017 Ondo State Summit held in Akure, last week, had stated, as part of its 19 recommendations, that the state government would only be funding primary school education while parents should be responsible for the education of their children in secondary schools and tertiary institutions.
But in a statement on Monday by the Ondo State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Yemi Olowolabi, the state declared that it had not stopped free education.
The statement said the state government had yet to approve the recommendations of the summit and the government could not implement the recommendations until the final approval by the State Executive Council.
The statement read partly, “The communiqué from the summit is as a result of the summary of the views of all the stakeholders in the education sector in the state and over 2,000 stakeholders drawn from all walks of life participated in the two-day summit.
“It is expected that at the end of any summit, there is a communiqué, but it should be noted that the communiqué from the summit is not yet the position of the government or government policy.
“Expectedly, the state Commissioner for Education, whose ministry organised the summit, will ultimately present the communiqué to the State Executive Council, where every point in it will be thoroughly discussed and debated before government takes a position.”
The commissioner, who reiterated that the Akeredolu’s administration was committed to the welfare of the people of the state, urged the people to remain calm until the SEC appraised all the points raised in the communiqué.