Ogun State Government says it has intensified measures to safeguard schools, improve students’ discipline and strengthen technical and vocational education as part of efforts to create a safer and more productive learning environment across the state, ahead of the resumption of learners in public Primary and Secondary Schools on Monday, September 14 for the new 2026/2027 academic session
The State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu while speaking on recent developments in the education sector during a press conference held at his office in Oke-mosan, Abeokuta, disclosed that Safe School Steering Committees had been established at the national, state, local government and school levels in line with directives from the Federal Ministry of Education.
According to him, the State Safe School Steering Committee is chaired at the state level by the Commissioner, while Zonal Education Officers chair the committees at the local government level. At the school level, principals and headteachers serve as heads of the committees.
He said the committees bring together relevant security agencies, including the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Nigeria Police Force, to improve coordination and response to security threats in and around schools.
The Commissioner explained that the NSCDC had taken charge of the National Safe School Response and Coordination Centre, while the police had also established the School Protection Squad (SPS) to complement existing security arrangements.
He said representatives of the police participated in a recent sensitisation meeting with principals and headteachers, where school administrators were educated on security precautions, surveillance and proactive measures.
“Security is everybody’s business,” he stressed, noting that a significant proportion of security challenges could be prevented through proactive action, surveillance and adequate precautions.
He also disclosed that school heads had previously been directed to register their schools with the nearest police stations and exchange contact details with the relevant Divisional Police Officers or station officers.
According to him, the arrangement has strengthened the synergy between schools, the police and the Civil Defence Corps in responding to emergencies.
Parents’ undertaking strengthens discipline
The Commissioner also highlighted the role of the parents’ undertaking in improving discipline and strengthening parental involvement in schools.
Arigbabu clarified that the undertaking introduced in 2021 was not a one-off document, but one that parents are expected to sign every academic year as their children progress through school.
He said the annual process was designed to constantly remind parents of their responsibilities and encourage them to maintain closer contact with their children’s schools.
The undertaking requires parents to support school authorities in maintaining discipline, avoid disrupting school activities and cooperate with the school when disciplinary measures become necessary.
He said the initiative had also exposed the extent to which some parents were disconnected from their children’s schools.
According to him, requiring parents to visit schools annually to sign the undertaking has encouraged greater parental engagement.
He recalled an example involving 11 parents whose children had misbehaved in school. After the parents were invited, all 11 reportedly appeared within an hour.
The Commissioner said the parents were subsequently made to take responsibility for repairing damage caused by their children.
He argued that although the undertaking might appear to be “just an ordinary piece of paper,” the commitment contained in it had made it an important instrument for improving discipline.
He further noted that behavioural challenges in schools could not be blamed entirely on teachers or school authorities, stressing that schools reflected the wider society.
“The school is a microcosm of society,” he said, pointing to behaviours such as fighting, drug abuse and other forms of misconduct in the wider society that could be replicated by children in schools.
On the gas-related incident reported in some schools, the Commissioner said the government was working with experts from the Earth Sciences Department of the state-owned Olabisi Onabanjo University , Ago-Iwoye to establish the cause and prevent a recurrence.
He said experts had submitted a preliminary report indicating that the affected areas could be associated with a geological fault line and a crack in the earth’s crust through which gases might have escaped.
He stressed that the investigation was still ongoing and that the government would continue to work with the experts until the issue was fully resolved.
He said the government had deployed ambulances and health officials to the affected areas during the incident and installed CCTV cameras in some sections of the schools.
The Commissioner said the affected schools would continue to be monitored, adding that the government had put additional safety measures in place ahead of the resumption of academic activities.
He explained that the incident was not necessarily restricted to the schools, as residents within the surrounding communities also reported detecting the smell.
The Commissioner added that the government was encouraging the installation of additional CCTV cameras, particularly in schools with large premises.
He appealed to development partners, old students’ associations, parents and other stakeholders to support government efforts to expand security infrastructure in schools.
He noted that government could not single-handedly provide all the resources required to secure every school.
Technical colleges get modern equipment
Speaking on technical and vocational education, the Commissioner said the state government had continued to invest in the rehabilitation and equipping of its eight technical colleges
He disclosed that about 1,000 bags used at a recent government conference were produced by students and instructors at the Government Technical College, Ijebu-Ode.
He urged members of the public and organisations requiring technical services to patronise the state’s technical colleges, noting that students were being trained with modern equipment and practical skills.
He listed technical colleges in Ijebu-Ode, Ayetoro, Iboro, Ajegunle, Ijebu-Igbo, Larakata and Ikenne-Remo among institutions undergoing various levels of rehabilitation and equipment upgrades.
According to him, some of the colleges had been fenced and rehabilitated, while modern equipment sourced from countries including the United Kingdom and Turkey had been provided, particularly at the ones at Idi-Aba and Oke- Ijeun both in Abeokuta, the State capital
He said the new equipment represented a significant departure from some of the old machines inherited from previous administrations.
On the recently paid ₦24billion as counter-fund by the state under UBEC/SUBEB intervention targets infrastructure, furniture, sports facilities
The Commissioner further explained that the recently paid ₦24billion
Counter-Part Fund by the Prince Dapo Abiodun's administration under UBEC/SUBEB arrangements would enable the State to have access to more financial resources for construction, rehabilitation and provision of facilities in schools across the state
He said the intervention would cover different areas, including classroom construction, rehabilitation, furniture, toilets, fencing and sports facilities.
He explained that the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) had also introduced the whole-school approach, under which selected schools would receive comprehensive intervention covering all identified infrastructure and facility needs.
The Commissioner said Ogun would initially implement the approach in selected schools, with approximately one school chosen per local government area.
Arigbabu cited Muslim Girls’ High School, Ijebu-Ode, as an example of what could be achieved through the whole-school approach.
On teachers recruitment in public schools, he revealed that more than 6,000 people had been employed through the Ogun Teach programme since commencement of the present administration in 2019
The Commissioner said the programme had also been strengthened through a partnership with Teach for Nigeria (TFN), whose fellows are trained and deployed to schools.
According to him, more than 500 fellows have so far participated in the collaboration, while some have subsequently been absorbed into the state’s teaching workforce.
He explained that the first 2,000 Ogun Teach recruits and another 2,000 had already become permanent teachers, while the latest batch of about 2,000 recruits was undergoing the programme.
The Commissioner said the state had also encouraged Teach for Nigeria to prioritise graduates with education qualifications in its recruitment process.
Arigbabu explained that while the programme previously accepted graduates from diverse disciplines and trained them to teach, the state was now encouraging the recruitment of graduates with formal education qualifications.
He said the combined investments in school security, infrastructure, teacher recruitment, technical education and parental engagement were aimed at building a stronger education system capable of preparing Ogun students for future economic opportunities.
Clarify the report’s source context
Tighten the report for newspaper length
Lead with the ₦24bn intervention
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