School merger policy pushed many children out of classrooms in Osun — Commissioner

By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo –

Osun State Commissioner for Education, Dipo Eluwole, has blamed the high rate of out-of-school children in the state on poor policy decisions during the administration of former governor Rauf Aregbesola, particularly the merging of schools and the construction of mega schools.

Speaking during the 2025 World Day Against Child Labour, Eluwole said the school merger policy forced many students, especially in rural communities, out of the education system due to distance and accessibility challenges.

“When our forefathers started free education, they built schools in every rural area, making them easily accessible. But when the past government merged schools, children who had schools nearby were asked to travel far. This discouraged parents, leading to more children staying at home. That is how Osun became the home of out-of-school children,” he said.

Eluwole also criticised the mega school policy, describing it as a huge financial burden on the state. He noted that the funds used to maintain one mega school could renovate dozens of smaller schools across different communities.

“For example, the mega school in Ayedaade is almost collapsing. When we sent engineers to inspect it, the renovation bill was N480 million. Meanwhile, renovating a typical three-classroom block costs N12 million. You can imagine how many classrooms that amount could fix,” he added.

The commissioner, however, commended Governor Ademola Adeleke for repositioning the education sector. He revealed that recent initiatives have led to an additional 11,000 school enrollments last year, adding that “Osun is no longer the home of out-of-school children.”

Highlighting the progress made, Eluwole announced that four pupils from Osun recently represented Nigeria at an international debate competition in Malaysia and won the contest, showcasing the impact of the reforms.