Osun State officials have rejected claims made by the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) that public schools in the region suffer from inadequate infrastructure and a shortage of teachers.
The rebuttal was delivered on Friday in Osogbo by Temitope Mustapha, chairman of the Osun State Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM), during a one‑day workshop for members of the state’s timetable committee. Mustapha said the administration of Governor Ademola Adeleke has placed education at the forefront of its agenda and is committed to preventing neglect of any school in the state.
According to Mustapha, both urban and rural schools are currently benefiting from ongoing development programmes, countering the APC’s allegation that certain institutions are being abandoned. “No school is going into extinction in Osun State,” he asserted, adding that pupils from rural areas have performed strongly in external examinations such as the National Examinations Council (NECO) and the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
He attributed the state’s recent climb in national school rankings – from 30th to 7th place – to these improvements. Mustapha described reports of school closures in rural communities as “unfounded” and suggested they were being spread by “enemies of progress.” “The insinuation that rural schools are closing down is false. Under this administration, no such thing has happened and it will not happen,” he said.
The TESCOM chairman also highlighted staff deployment efforts, noting that newly recruited teachers have been assigned to underserved areas to bolster staffing levels. He called on timetable officers to maintain professionalism, emphasizing their role in coordinating academic activities. “Every teacher, except principals and vice‑principals, must be assigned 24 teaching periods per week,” Mustapha stipulated.
The APC’s criticisms were voiced earlier by Wole Oke, director‑general of the party’s campaign committee for the August 15 governorship election. Oke alleged mismanagement of educational resources, stating, “We don’t have school buildings, we don’t have teachers, and our children are no longer attending public schools.”
The exchange underscores the political tension surrounding education policy in Osun State as the upcoming gubernatorial election approaches. Both parties are positioning their records on school infrastructure and teacher deployment as key issues for voters. The outcome of the election may determine the direction of future educational initiatives and resource allocation in the state.
