The Oyo State government says Governor Seyi Makinde mopped up to 20 per cent of out-of-school children back to the classrooms during his first tenure.

The state Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Salihu Adelabu, said this in an interview with journalists in Ibadan on Monday.

Correspondents observed an increasing number of school-age children roaming the roads and motor parks in Ibadan during school hours, begging for alms and not ready to say why they are not in school.

Speaking on this development, the commissioner reiterated the government’s commitment to reducing the number of out-of-school children in the state.

He, however, said that despite Mr Makinde’s government’s efforts to reduce the out-of-school menace, the migration of children from other parts of the country had been a major setback.

“In the course of profiling them, they could not be traced to recognised parents or guardians. So, we are finding it difficult to take them back to school.

“You may see some in Akinyele today, but don’t be surprised that tomorrow, they may relocate to Challenge,” Mr Adelabu said.

The commissioner further said the indigenes amongst them had been complying.

Mr Adelabu said the children were sceptical of education and exhibited a negative mindset about school. He said most of their parents had the same negative mindset towards their wards attending school.

The commissioner recalled an instance of three girls outrightly saying in the presence of their mothers that they were not interested in going to school.

He, however, said the government would continue to invest in infrastructure and facilities, including building model schools to care for all categories of students.

The commissioner said the student population had been properly managed, with hardly any state school with more than 1,500 students.

“I can bet there is none that is up to 2,000 population of students,” Mr Adelabu said.

He said the state had been involved in recirculation and splitting to give each head of school a manageable size of students.

“About 7,000 teachers and a few caregivers would be recruited to our basic education arm, while about 7,500 teachers and 3,000 non-teaching staff will be recruited at the secondary school level,” Mr Adelabu said.

(NAN)