The Osun State Government on Friday said more than 11,000 school dropouts returned to classrooms in 2024 following reforms in the education sector.
The Commissioner for Education, Dipo Eluwole, disclosed this in Osogbo while highlighting the impact of Governor Ademola Adeleke’s interventions in public schools.
According to him, the return of thousands of out-of-school children was largely influenced by the reintroduction of the school feeding programme, as well as the rehabilitation of abandoned schools across rural communities.
Eluwole explained that previous administrations worsened school dropouts by concentrating on “mega schools” far from local communities, forcing many children from poor households to hawk instead of attending classes.
“Because Osun is an agrarian state, most of the children support their parents through hawking. When schools were moved far away, parents could not afford the transport fares, so they withdrew their wards. But when Governor Adeleke assumed office, he made it a priority to bring them back to classrooms,” he said.
The commissioner noted that the school feeding scheme currently caters for 203,739 pupils in 1,850 public primary schools, adding that it has also created jobs for 2,470 food vendors across the state.
He further revealed that the initiative had attracted the attention of the Federal Government, which is considering adopting the Osun model nationwide.
On new policy measures, Eluwole said public schools have been directed to run farm projects to boost food security and complement the feeding programme.
“The instruction is simple: grow what you eat, eat what you grow. We are partnering with the agriculture ministry to provide free seedlings and tractors for schools with available land,” he said.
The commissioner stressed that the reforms were aimed at consolidating Adeleke’s vision of making education more accessible and sustainable in the state.
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