Edo govt orders reopening of Ihogbe, Akenzua schools

Three months after it was shut down as a result of cult-related violence, Edo State Government has ordered the reopening of Ihogbe and Oba Akenzua secondary schools in Benin City.

A statement in Benin yesterday by Mr Musa Ebomhina, the Chief Press Secretary to the Deputy Governor,  Comrade Phillip Shaibu, he explained that the decision followed the report presented to him by a committee set up to find a lasting solution to the incessant clashes among students of the two schools.

The committee which is headed by the Commissioner for Education, Mr Emmanuel Agbale comprises of nominees from the Catholic community,  the state police command, old students associations of both schools and the host community, was inaugurated last March at the peak of the violence between students of the two schools.

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Following the presentation of the preliminary report, Shaibu directed the Agabale headed committee to meet with all stakeholders before the end of the week preparatory to the formal reopening of the schools on Monday, July 1, 2019.

He assured that ” I will be there myself physically to witness it.”

Among other recommendations, the committee advised that School Based  Management Committee (SBMC) comprising of all stakeholders be set up for the two schools while the activities of the Man O’ War and Cadets be suspended forthwith in the schools.

Also, heads of the two schools should be redeployed and teachers who have overstayed be redeployed to other schools in the state and adequate security be provided in and around the schools’ premises while the 15 per cent of the students who failed to show up for the screening be given a second çhance when the schools fully resume.

The deputy governor disclosed that the academic calendar for the two schools is adjusted to enable the students to cover lost ground following the forceful closure.