Published By Ademola Orunbon
The Ogun state government has revealed that it is hopeful that indiscipline and unruly behaviors amongst its learners would be curbed to the minimal level, with the intervention and strategies put in place.
The Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu gave this assurance, in Oke-Mosan during the handing over of report by counselors engaged to counsel learners of Abeokuta Girls’ Grammar School, Onikolobo, caught smoking ‘shisha’ towards the end of First term.
Prof. Arigbabu, in a statement signed by the Ministry’s Press Officers, Mrs. Damilola Omoniyi and Mr. Ayoola Obadimu, reiterated that government was determined to build and develope children that would be psychologically and mentally balanced, through its responsive approach to teaching and learning exercise.
“Ogun State government is responsible and responsive when it comes to education, and we are more interested in bringing up a psychologically and mentally balanced child. I am hopeful that the state will be able to curb indiscipline in our schools, with all our interventions and laid down strategies”, he said.
Arigbabu said that the recommendations presented would be followed to the letter, he explained that the essence of punishment was not to destroy but to correct and reform erring learners, with promised that the Ministry would continue to monitor the progress of the learners.
The Commissioner while underscoring the importance of counseling unit in schools, stated that government would ensure that counseling unit is put in place to tackle such occurrences, saying that there would be counseling session for parents of these learners in order to have a total reformation for them.
Speaking on behalf of the counselors, the State President of the All Nigerian Confederation of Principals of Secondary Schools, ANCOPSS, Dr. (Mrs.) Ayodele Womiloju who is also a counselor, said that the counselors have been able to identify the causes of the learners behavior and also proffer solutions that would bring about positive changes in them.
Dr. Womiloju pointed out that from the report submitted, there would be continued evaluative counseling that would helped the learners in the post-incidence coping strategies, while also advising parents not to be permissive in training their children but be responsible and available to give them the proper monitoring required.