http://www.osundefender.org/?p=30401
The Government of the State of Osun has distributed instructional materials worth N150 million to all public primary schools in the state, as the government noted that enrollment in public primary schools have increased with the introduction of O-MEAL.

The Osun meal, an initiative where primary school pupils are been fed by the state government throughout the 30 Local government and one area office of the state.

The Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola at the ceremony to flag off the distribution of the instructional materials in Osogbo added that money for school management had been increased to N75.000 for each school per term as against the N1500 per term being paid by previous administration.

The governor stressed that the present administration is committed to making products of public schools in the state eligible into any university in the country.

Aregbesola said that, “the totality of the material we are distributing today is about N150 million, but beyond that, we have changed the entire concept of schools management administration. Before the advent of this administration, the totality of what used to go schools was about N1.500 per term, but has changed now to N75.000 to each school per term.

“We observed that the amount being paid before now was small and that was why parents were being asked to pay for everything, but now, for each of the pupils, we give minimum of N400 to each of the pupil to each school per term. That was why we insisted that no parent must pay anything anymore for education of their children. We believe that teachers are well groomed that they will not request a kobo from parents, any teachers who go against this must be reported to the nearest police station.”

Some of the materials distributed to schools include exercise books, chalks, school registers, diaries, dusters, chalk board renovators, Yoruba rhymes among other schools instructional materials.

The governor speaking on the O-MEAL programme, noted that before his administration, pupils were being fed with N26, but now they are being fed with N50, saying that, this will give them the opportunity to eat chicken, fish, eggs and beef among other nutritional meals that will make them mentally sound.

He also added that he is elated by the fact that pupils of public schools are now being fed like the children of the elite; the feeding which the Governor noted will enhance the performance of the pupils having been fed with nutritional meals that will make them mentally sound.