The ACN governorship candidate in Kwara State in last year’s elections, Mr.Dele Belgore (SAN) has accused the state government of double standard for stopping the annual free holiday classes sponsored by him across the 16 local government areas of the state.
Reacting to the directive issued by the State Ministry of Education to school principals to disallow the holiday lesson classes, Belogore described the government’s action as harsh and one that ‘smacks of cheap politics.’
He wondered why government stopped his own initiative for no reason while it allowed that of the immediate past governor, Senator Bukola Saraki, to continue to run.
MDB Solidarity Team, the group supervising the initiative, had earlier secured written permission of the various schools chosen for the lessons.
In a statement in Ilorin, Belgore’s media aide, Mr. Rafiu Ajakaye, accused the education ministry of succumbing to “intense pressure from the PDP” on the issue.
He said: “Officials from the state Ministry of Education and SUBEB went round some of the schools to stop the lessons. The officials said they were acting on the orders of the Commissioner for education who, in turn, has directed the principals to stop the extra lessons.
“The lesson, in its second year, commenced last Monday, August 6, following the long school break across the country.
“As at Thursday, the state government had stopped the lessons in St. John’s Primary School, Maraba (Ilorin East); St. Barnabas Primary Schoo, Sabo-Oke (Ilorin East); Adabiya Primary School, Abata Baba Oyo in Ilorn West and United Community Secondary School, in IIorin South. No reason was given for the directive.”
He accused the government of double standard since it did not stop a similar initiative by Senator Bukola Saraki a few months ago when he floated extra coaching for students writing the UTME in Ilorin.
“For the avoidance of doubt, public schools (Ansarul Islam Primary School, Okekere; Banni Secodary School; Pakata Primary School, Ilorin) were used for the UTME thing and the government didn’t stop it. We agree there’s no reason to have stopped such initiative which, like the one Belgore, SAN, is organising, was an effort to mould better Kwarans,” Ajakaye said.
“It is cheap politics, the sort we are preaching against, to stop this wonderful (education) initiative which, to our mind, is the best way to empower the people.”
The subjects taught under the Belgore initiative are Mathematics, English Language, Chemistry, Physics, Account, Economics, Commerce, Agricultural Science, Yoruba, Computer, Government, Literature in English, Biology, Basic Science, Business Studies, Social Studies and Yoruba
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