The Ogun State Government said it has beefed up security around all public schools in the state to guard against the incidence of kidnapping.
Governor Dapo Abiodun said this on Wednesday in Abeokuta when he received members of the House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education, led by its Chairman, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere.
Abiodun described the measure as a proactive step in the light of the recent kidnappings of students in some parts of the country.
“As a responsible government, we have approved the employment of security men in all our schools. We do not want to be reactive on the issue of security in our schools.
“We want to ensure that our children and teachers are safe while in school,” the governor said.
He also announced plans to rehabilitate 600 schools across the state before the end of his first term in office.
According to him, the projects are part of efforts to ensuring a conducive environment for teaching and learning in the schools.
He noted that his administration had invested huge fund in infrastructure in the education sector, stating that more investments needed to be made to take the schools to greater heights.
“In spite of the much we have done, each time I see some news items on the television or newspaper about one school whose roofs are about to fall, I ask myself when will we cover all these schools.
“The task to rehabilitate the schools to ensure a conducive environment for the children to learn remains our priority.
“Our target is that by the end of the first four years in office, we will have given about 600 schools a facelift.
“We are also in the process of awarding the construction of 60,000 furniture contract so that the children can sit comfortably while learning,” Abiodun said.
He assured that his administration would accord necessary priority to basic education, saying “basic education is the foundation on which other levels of education are built upon”.