By Olufemi Oni, Ilorin

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara state has taken a swipe at the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for its derogatory remarks on the basic education in the state under Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, saying it is a sacrilege for the PDP that performed abysmally poorly in all sectors when it held sway for 16 years to join any conversation on basic education or healthcare delivery in the state.

Alhaji Tajudeen Aro Folaranmi, the state APC Publicity Secretary, in a statement made available to newsmen in Ilorin, the state capital, said: “This is a party under which basic education collapsed completely. Not only was the state blacklisted under its watch for criminal diversion and outright stealing of funds meant for fixing schools, but the whole infrastructure had collapsed, and teachers had become forlorn for lack of regular salary payment.

“Things were so bad that WAEC had similarly lost confidence in the ability of the schools under the PDP government to supervise decent examinations. These were life experiences of the people of Kwara State. It will take years of dedicated funding, proper monitoring, and commitment of all relevant stakeholders to roll back the plague of PDP in basic education. We find it appalling therefore, if not an abuse of the civic space, that the same party is offering an opinion on education.”

According to Folaranmi, Governor AbduRazaq’s administration’s performance in basic education has been celebrated by the House of Representatives, UBEC, and other relevant educational bodies, adding that the data quoted by Governor AbdulRazaq are credible and verifiable, including the one on school enrollment.

He said: “The PDP under whose government the public lost confidence in public basic education lacks any credibility to speak to the question of Out-Of-School Children (OOSC), which, for Kwara and other states, are a function of many variables such as migration patterns, cultural beliefs, and poor attitude of some guardians, all of which are being tackled through various strategies as new school enrollment shows. Such strategies include public enlightenment and carrot-and-stick approach in communities where children of school age are compelled to go to farm during school hours. Since 2018 out of school children’s data represented the realities of the previous year (2017), it is expected that PDP would show the data for 2019 or even 2020 to properly situate its full realities.”

The Publicity Secretary added that
public school enrollments have grown astronomically between 2018 and now due to the efforts of the current government, which, he noted, has restored public confidence in public schools, lamenting that under the PDP’s years, school infrastructure had collapsed, while many teachers had to abandon classrooms to seek survival elsewhere as a result of non payment of their salary.

He added: “Under our administration, public school enrollment has risen for reasons of improved infrastructure and better teaching quality, including unprecedented access to digital tools and sanitation facilities that encourage more girl children to enrol in schools. For example, whereas public primary school enrollment in 2018 stood at 179,004, it has risen consistently under this administration as follows: 181,306 (2019); 189,090 (2020); 189,237 (2021); and 209,711 (2022).

“Here is the ultimate indictment: in the early days when this administration hired some education experts to conduct an independent school census focusing on capabilities of the pupils, it was discovered that the average Primary 6 pupil could only read at the literacy skill level of a Primary 2 pupil, and 50% of upper class pupils (4-6) in public schools could only attempt a simple addition problem like 56+17=73. That was the record of the PDP government in Kwara State.

“No one should be shocked by such grim outcome in our schools as PDP, in its reckless disregard for the future of the state, was so carefree that it was hiring persons without O Level Credit Passes in English and Maths to teach in basic classes, including public Junior Secondary Schools. PDP will do well to leave conversations around education and healthcare, or good governance, for that matter, to persons with requisite antecedents.”