Don’t lease out public schools for religious activities, warns SUBEB chair

Chairamn of Ondo State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Princess Oladunni Odu, has urged the general public to stop trespassers from destroying government properties and educational facilities in the state.

Odu made the appeal in Akure during the inspection of UBEC/SUBEB projects to construct and renovate over 500 classrooms in the public primary schools across the state, stressing that they should be used for education purposes.

She lamented that public school facilities were being leased out to outsiders by some persons to be used as religious worship centres every Sunday and for weekly services.

To prevent such practices in the schools, she said the state government has deemed it appropriate to build fences in all the schools for security purposes and to wade off trespassers that deface the aesthetic values.

Leading the team from the board, she inspected level of work going on at St James Anglican Primary School, Oda; Local Authority 2, Okebola, Akure; St Stephen Primary School, Ijomu, Army Comprehensive, Akure.

Others were Muslim Primary School, Akure; SUBEB Model, Okuta-Elerinla, Akure; St Peter Demonstration Primary School, Akure among others.

Odu, a former Commissioner for Education, disclosed that the governor provided N3.9b counterpart fund towards UBEC matching grant of N3.9b, adding that the board had a total of N7.8b to work with.

She noted that the projects were awarded to contractors, who were adequately funded and mobilized in March to deliver most of the projects before resumption of schools in September while work would continue in others.