TheCable

Urban Alert, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has asked Ademola Adeleke, governor of Osun, to declare a state of emergency on public education in the state.

The NGO said the decision is to ensure that capable hands are appointed to manage the state’s education sector.

In November, Adeleke was sworn in as the governor of Osun after he defeated Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who was seeking re-election.

Offering recommendations on a new agenda for the Adeleke administration in a statement on Monday, the organisation said a citizen’s survey conducted shows that job creation, health, commerce, and education require the government’s urgent attention.

“The agenda-setting, which also serves as a needs assessment exercise, was done through a citizens’ survey in the 30 local government areas of Osun state and a focused group,” the statement reads.

“All the 17 issues and sectors ranked during the exercise were ranked between ‘extremely urgent’, ‘very urgent’, ‘urgent’ and ‘slightly urgent’ by respondents of the survey and participants of the focused group discussion.

“This means there are varying degrees of urgency in all the issues, and they should not be handled with levity by the new government of Osun state.

“According to the survey, job creation, health, commerce and education ranked as the areas seeking ‘extremely urgent’ attention from the new government.

“Recall that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) published 37.3% as the unemployment rate in Osun state in April 2022.

“Residents of Osun state yearn for
the government’s serious attention in providing quality primary and tertiary healthcare services to vulnerable residents who cannot afford the state’s Osun Health Insurance Scheme as it were.

“With the miserable state of education in Osun state, the new government must declare a state of emergency on
public education, ensure the appointment of capable hands into the sector, and embark on repairing school infrastructure.”