Osun delays special-needs students’ resumption over feeding funds

Students of the Osun State Secondary School for Students with Special Needs in Osogbo remain at home because the state government says it cannot yet fund their boarding and feeding.

The delay has continued after other schools in the state began academic activities. Education Commissioner Dipo Eluwole said the students would not be recalled without adequate provision for food and other basic needs.

Eluwole explained the decision during an assessment visit to the Osogbo school on Wednesday. He attributed the funding shortage to the non-release of local government allocations by the Federal Government, saying some of the money was intended for the students’ feeding programme.

The commissioner rejected allegations that the students were being deliberately neglected. He said Governor Ademola Adeleke’s administration remained committed to their education but considered it inappropriate to bring them back without arrangements for their welfare.

The chairman of the Osun State Universal Basic Education Board, Aremo Adekunle Alao, and its executive secretary, Yahaya Bakare, backed the decision to keep the students at home until their needs could be met.

The officials said teachers had continued to report for duty despite the students’ absence. They urged them to keep carrying out their responsibilities while the funding problem was addressed.

Sources: Punch, Daily Post