From Lateef Dada, Osogbo
Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has promised to resolve the issue of teachers’ recruitment very soon.
He described the seventh position ranking by the national examination from the 33rd position in the early 2022 as a fulfilment of his electoral promises.
Noting that he has promised during the 2022 governorship campaign to take Osun to a single digit ranking in national examinations, Adeleke stated that the ranking with the new report titled, “Standard Educational Performance Ranking of States in 2024 SSCE,” from the National Examinations Council (NECO), is a pointer that he was keeping with the promise.
A statement by the spokesperson to the Governor, Olawale Rasheed, yesterday, said the report obtained by the Commissioner for Education, Dipo Eluwole, confirmed Governor Adeleke’s commitment to restoring the state’s education sector to its academic leadership that the state once occupied from its creation in 1991.
“For the records, Osun State was ranked number seven out of 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) coming behind Lagos, Kano, Oyo, Benue, Ogun and Katsina states, with 29,101 candidates that obtained at least five credits, including English Language and Mathematics out of 41,264, that sat for the exam.
“Osun state, thereby, achieved approximately 71 percent success, first of its kind in the last 18 years.
“Percentage success was also ranked among male and female candidates with Osun State’s male candidates coming in the 10th position nationwide, with 69.2 percent success, while the female candidates came sixth nationwide with approximately 72 percent success.”
Adeleke noted that Osun had been the world No 1 state that won for Nigeria the prestigious Malaysia International Debate Competition sometimes in December 2024; the national representative in far away Dallas for Al, Robotic Competition representing Africa come May, 2025; the second position in National Sewing Competition and entrepreneurship education index in 2024 August; and the widely celebrated best state in the implementation of National Education Loan Assessment Rating by NELFUND itself.
“I am elated that on a daily basis, good things, good news are happening to us as a state. I made that promise and now God and our team have made it possible. It is extraordinary to move from 33rd position to seventh within two years.
“But my real target is number one and it is possible. So, our educational team should not rest yet. We must keep up the reforms. We must continue to innovate.
“Osun State University is thriving with our full support. University of Ilesa is growing so excellently and efficiently. Our polytechnics and College of Education are undergoing reforms to address all outstanding issues. We are multitasking to reposition Osun education for the better.
“We will soon resolve the issue of teachers’ recruitment. Our government is juggling so many issues together at the same time. We seek to avoid financial gridlock which can result without careful planning,” Adeleke said.