THE OYO State Government has suspended a primary school headteacher, Risikat Ogundele for detaining a primary three pupil of Atolu Model Primary School 4, in a police station.
According to the Chairman of State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Nureni Adeniran, the headteacher was suspended after finding out she detained a pupil at a police station in Ibadan, the state capital.
But there was no information about the offence of the pupil that could have warranted his detention.
Ogundele was suspended alongside 13 primary school headteachers, two assistant headteachers and one classroom teacher over allegations of extortion and insubordination.
The Chairman noted that Agnes Amodu of IMG Primary school, Olubadan and Janet Ayoade, headteacher of St. John’s Catholic Primary School 1, Eleta, both refused to comply with posting instructions from the state government and were subsequently suspended
He added that the others were suspended for allegedly extorting money from pupils and parents of the schools they head.
Stating the names of teachers accused of extortion, he said ‘Mrs. Kehinde Oyediran and Mrs. Monsurat Olaniyan, headteachers at Community Primary School 1 and 2, Idi-Obi, Airport, Ibadan; Mr. Omotosho Michael, Mrs. Bilikisu Romoke and Mrs. Oyenike Damilola Adisa, headteachers at Community Primary School 1, 2, and 3, Sasa, Ibadan were suspended for collecting illegal fees.’
Adeniran noted that the teachers were discovered during a tour of the primary schools following disbursement of N526 Million as running grants to primary and secondary schools for the first term of 2019/2020 session.
“It was during our tour of schools that we discovered the failure of some teachers to comply with posting instructions, while some of them were collecting illegal money from the pupils, despite reiteration of the free-education policy of this administration,” the chairman said.
Lukman Abolade is an Investigative reporter with The ICIR. Reach out to him via labolade@icirnigeria.org, on twitter @AboladeLAA and FB @Correction94