By Dupson Collins, 28th September, 2022
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education in Ondo State, Mrs Lola Amuda has lauded the Principal of Oyemekun Grammar School,Akure, Mr Ogunleye Okeowo over Project embarked upon in the school, describing him as a pacesetter and role model to other schools in Ondo State.
She made this remarks during her assessment tour to the school, assessing the preparation of the Oyemekun Grammar School as students resume for 2022/23 academic session.
The Permanent Secretary said Oyemekun has always been at the forefront of schools in Ondo State, in terms of academic, Sports, discipline and self embarked projects.
Mrs Amuda noted that the six classrooms Storey Building under construction at the school will provide more classrooms for conducive learning and also increase admission capacity of the students.
Her words: ” You are doing great and I Commend your vision for Oyemekun Grammar School. Education requires collective contributions of every stakeholders and shouldn’t be left in the hands of government alone”.
She charged other schools to emulate the principal of Oyemekun, saying with the cooperation of parents and Old Students Association, erecting new building and embarking on projects are achievable.
Amuda warned Principals of school against collecting illegal money from parents and students, saying only fees approved by the government must be collected from both the new and returning students.
Speaking, the principal of Oyemekun, Mr Ogunleye Okeowo thanked the Permanent Secretary and her entourage for the inspection, saying the school will continue to set pace for others to follow as the Only School in Ondo State.
According to him, ” We started the six classrooms Storey Building last year; in few weeks to come, the roofing would have been completed. As of today, our SSS 3 students have occupied the first floor because I want them to feel the impact of the new structure before leaving the school”.
Ogunleye said the project was achievable with the cooperation of government and parents, saying it was a joined project of the school and parents.
Meanwhile, speaking on the admission of new intake into JSS 1, Ogunleye said admitted students were purely on merit, saying Oyemekun Grammar School won’t settle for less.
” Admission process is still on going; so far, we have admitted about 500 students and it’s only the Ministry of Education that can determine the school’s admission capacity.”
“The lucky students admitted were purely on merit; our minimum cut off mark is 254. For any student to be considered for admission, he must have scored 254 aside other requirements. We don’t sell books, uniform, chair and lockers, all these are to be bought by parents”.
Ogunleye said more than 3800 pupils made Oyemekun Grammar School their first choice, saying the facility of the school can only occupy sizeable number and work on the list released by the Ministry of Education.
The Principal supported the position of government on the need for government teachers to enroll their children in public schools, saying it will add more values to the education standard and make the teachers to be serious since their wards are among the students they are teaching.
His words: ” I was transferred to this school in 1993 and all my children passed through the school and today all of them are making me proud as a father. You can’t compare government schools with private in terms of human resources and qualifications but most of the teachers in public schools prefer private school, this orientation must change”.
He advised both the new and old students to be studious, telling the unserious among them that the school won’t hesitate to expell them if they fail to meet the academic standard of the school. “Oyemekun Grammar School is not a breeding ground for mediocre”.
” We have laid down rules and regulations that guide our students; bullying, extortion, lateness, laziness, truancy, cultism among others are forbidden and violation come with sanctions. We are the only school in Ondo State and to maintain this, we must be outstanding in academic, moral, sport and competitions”.
