… Harps On Safe Learning Environment
The Lagos State Government has spread its dragnet to fully monitor the resumption of all public and private basic and secondary schools in the State to ensure that all stakeholders in the education sector comply with the agreed new academic calendar for the 2024/2025 session.
Leading the task, Mr. Remi Abdul, Director of Planning, Research and Statistics in the Office of Education Quality Assurance (OEQA) stated on Monday that the monitoring exercise was to affirm the position of the State Government that academic activities should commence on the first day of resumption after a few hours of cleaning exercise in all schools.
“As you are quite aware, the schools in Lagos State, both basic and secondary, have resumed today, 9th September, 2024, and it is one of the duties of OEQA to monitor the resumption of schools to ensure that all schools resumed on the date stipulated in the Lagos State Harmonised Academic Calendar. This exercise is also to ensure that schools have made every preparation to receive the students in schools”, he said.
He disclosed that the expectations of the OEQA were to find all the facilities in good condition and all teachers on ground for the smooth commencement of academic and non-academic activities in a safe and conducive learning environment. This, according to him, is essential to the State Government’s efforts to improve the education sector.
During the tour of classrooms and other facilities to ensure that the learning environment is safe and secure, Abdul admonished learners to be focused and study well to achieve maximally in the new session and ultimately be successful in life.
He emphasised that the State Government, in partnership with all stakeholders in the sector, had worked together to produce the current academic calendar harmoniously. So, it was expected that all the stakeholders would also comply with the school resumption date.
Also speaking, Mr. Kamardeen Akodu, Director, Monitoring and Investigation in the Office of Education Quality Assurance (OEQA), said that the office took the step to enforce the compliance of the common agreement made by the stakeholders and to look at their readiness to commence the new academic session while taking into consideration, the importance of security of lives of all learners within their schools’ environment.
According to Akodu, “We embarked on the school resumption exercise to ascertain the levels of readiness of schools, both private and public schools below the tertiary level in the State. The essence of the exercise also is to ensure that learners are safe within the school premises all over the State”.
He stressed that, evaluators from the headquarters in Alausa alongside the 20 zones spread across the six education districts in the State were involved in the ongoing exercise to check valuable information regarding school resumption, such as: convening a resumption meeting to prepare the minds of members of staff and preparation of the schools’ environment for both academic and non-academic activities among others.
He expressed optimism that the exercise, which would last for 10 days beginning from Monday, September 9th, 2024, would further gear up the stakeholders in the education sector to brace up and enhance improvement in students’ performances.
Some of the schools visited include Eric Moore Junior & Senior High School, Surulere; Government Junior & Senior College, Surulere, Lagos; Fountain Heights Secondary School, Surulere; and Surulere Baptist Nursery/Primary School among others.
