Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has described his education policy in the state as a train engineered for a one-way trip to succeed.

He disclosed this at the inauguration of the Salvation Army Middle School, one of the 100 elementary, 50 middle and 20 high schools being built under the O’School project.

Speaking further at the inauguration, Ogbeni Aregbesola said the O’School initiative was conceived at the education summit organized by his administration to address infrastructural decay in public schools.

“The summit was to address the decay we met in public schools, which we found unacceptable. The summit, attended by eminent Nigerians like the Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, came up with a reform blueprint to overhaul the public education sector.

“We have since been working assiduously to implement the reforms. The inauguration of this school is evidence that all is going as planned with our reform. As part of the reform, we decided to reorganise the school system into Elementary, Middle and High School categories.

“The Elementary Level, comprising pupils aged 6 to 9 corresponds with primary 1 to 4 in the existing system. The Middle Level is from primary 4 to Junior Secondary School (JSS III) for pupils aged 10 to 14, now classified as Grades 5 to 9. The High School Level covers ages 15 to 17 and corresponds with the Senior Secondary School III (SS III), known as Grades 10-12,” he said.

According to him, the Elementary and Middle School would each accommodate 900 pupils, while 3,000 pupils would occupy the High School. The High Schools would possess facilities like state-of-the-art laboratories, recreation centres and a food court.

“The overall aim of the reforms we are carrying out is to develop the new man intellectually, socially and morally. This new man is placed in the centre of the society where he views his development as part of and for the development of the society.

“This is a non-parasitic and non-oppressive man, who views his existence in the light of the growth of others. He views whatever he acquires to be subsumed in the overall interest of others. He is a man in himself and a man for society. This is the Omoluabi essence,” he added.

Speaking at the inauguration, the Deputy Governor of Osun State, who also doubled as the Commissioner for Education, Mrs Titi Laoye-Tomori described the project as a major breakthrough of the Aregbesola-led administration in the state.

“I feel like break-dancing, even at my age. I am excited and feel fulfilled. I thank God that I am alive to see the coming to fruition of a vision conceptualised and deployed by my indefatigable governor.” She added.