Chieftain of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Osun State, Muslihudeen Adekilekun, has appealed to the Osun state governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke to reduce the work days in the public schools to four days in a week in order to ease the burden created by fuel crisis.
The call, according to him became imperative noting the distance of many schools to where pupils are residing and the current prices of petroleum.
He added that cost of transportation would surpass cost of books and school fees, unless necessary adjustment is made, making it imperative for the government to find a creative approach to deal with the situation.
Adekilekun, who was the NNPP candidate for the House Representatives seat for Ede/Egbedore/Ejigbo Federal Constituency in the 2023 general elections, in statement obtained in Osogbo on Tuesday, also said reducing the number of days to 4 from the current 5 days, would go a long way in reducing pressure on the parents that have been made poorer by the incessant increase in pump price.
Commenting further, Adekilekun, subsequently urged the State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, to as a matter of urgency, reduce school days to 4 per week, to bring relief to most homes.
Adekilekun noted that high cost of fuel which has led to increase in cost of transportation has impacted negatively on the purchasing power of most adults sponsoring education of their children and other relations.
According to him, bags of rice being shared as palliative to cushion effects of fuel price increase, would not reach most families, but decreasing school days would ease the anguish of the general populace.
“Where the cost of fuel or cost of transportation to school is higher than school fees and the cost of books, the responsible government must reduce the school days to four. We did that during the Covid pandemic, why not now in a poverty pandemic,” he stated.
Commenting further on the development around education sector in the state, he commended the state government for the diligence put into the ongoing teachers’ recruitment exercise.
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