By DADA AYOKHAI
The Founder and President of the Pius Alile Coalition Initiative, PACI,Hon Pius Alile has raised the stakes about the pitiable condition of public schools, accusing the PDP-led state government of paying lip service to the welfare of students and teachers
He made the disclosure in an address delivered at a political conference tagged “Edo 2024: A must-win for the APC”
Hon. Alile berated the Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki for abandoning the red-roof revolution initiated by his predecessor at the altar of politicking, saying his failure to follow- up on the laudable initiative is responsible for the pitiable condition of public schools in the state .
Under the red-roof revolution, a public education initiative enunciated and implemented by the Oshiomole administration, most of the public schools in the state witnessed a major facelift occasioned by the injection of funds for the renovation and construction of new classrooms, the provision of desks and chairs as well as other educational aids.
Recently, Edo State gained national notoriety as a result of the abject neglect of its public schools
The jolting emanated from a social media post by someone. The post depicted a “very critical” neglect of public schools and also showed scenes where primary and secondary students were sitting on the bare floor to learn. The scenes caused a public scare as well as drew flaks from concerned groups and individuals about the deplorable condition of public schools in the state.
Hon. Alile, mimicking the public outcry about the pitiable condition of state-owned schools, pooh-poohed Gov. Obaseki for mismanaging the situation, adding he has failed in sustaining the momentum initiated by his predecessor .
According to him, the PDP-led administration missed the track the moment it abandoned the public school’s red-roof policy that had the renovation agenda as its core unit and embarked upon what it called “Edo Best”, insisting the new education policy was meant to deceive the Edo people
Many Edo State APC bigwigs attended the conference including Hon. Samson Osagie, a former House of Representatives member who delivered one of the keynote lectures.
A visibly infuriated Hon. Alile wrote off the Obaseki administration accusing it of “lacking in vision and focus”, adding the goodwill the state enjoyed under Oshiomole has withered away under Obaseki, leaving the state prostrate in terms of the deplorable state of education, roads, health care and others.
He added that the governor has been busy playing to the gallery and that most of the achievements attributed to his administration only exist on paper and images posted on social media
