The Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has labeled the state government’s choice to indefinitely delay the reopening of schools due to rising fuel prices as “expensive political gimmickry.”
In a memo, Ojo Akin-Longe, the Permanent Secretary of the state Ministry of Education, communicated that the previously set resumption date of September 9 has been postponed until further notice.
Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria, the party’s Publicity Secretary, Mr. Peter Uwadiae-Enosorogbe, expressed that the government’s actions were unexpected and politically motivated.
Uwadiae-Enosorogbe expressed his astonishment that the educational future of children was being compromised for political reasons. “You cannot sacrifice the education pursuit of the children for fuel scarcity. It is not today we are having a hike in fuel prices. This cannot derail the educational system.”
He pointed out that there had been no protests regarding the fuel price increase, nor had parents voiced concerns about their ability to send their children to school for education. “This is not adding up.”
He further stated, “To every reasonable and rational individual, the government has erred again. It is one of the mistakes of the state government. “It is not in the interest of the children; it is not in the interest of the parents and it is not in the interest of the educational system.” Uwadiae-Enosorogbe urged the government to reverse its decision, noting that education in the state has already experienced significant setbacks under the current administration.
He mentioned that, according to recent results from the West African Senior School Certificate Examination, Edo ranked 26th, a stark contrast to its previous positions of first and second.
“If you now postpone resumption, how are you going to mitigate the time you have made them stay at home deliberately? Meanwhile, the parents are not complaining,” the APC spokesperson remarked.
He urged stakeholders to encourage the government to reopen schools, emphasizing that it is unreasonable to keep children at home when their parents have already paid for tuition and purchased textbooks.
“The children are eager to go back to classes to learn. So the government should not use political gimmickry to checkmate them.”
According to him, the Edo government needs to be addressed, as the decision is “an aberration; the action is uncalled for; the action is not in the interest of anybody.”
