The Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Issa-Onilu has called on Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji to mandate schools across the state to embrace textbook reuse, saying this would cut exploitation and grant quality education to the common man.
Issa-Onilu noted that the inability to reuse textbooks has made it difficult for some families to give their wards necessary equipment for learning, as they have to renew all machineries virtually every year.
The DG stated this on Wednesday in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State capital at a press conference to flag off the 2-week nationwide enlightenment campaign on: ‘National Value Re-Orientation for Students of Secondary Schools and Tertiary Institutions against sign-out extreme practice, National Campaign on Flood Mitigation, National Enlightenment Campaign on Government Policies and Activities, National Campaign on National Identity Project and National Symbols; and National Security Awareness Campaign’.
He also called on the governor to ban the practice of organising graduation ceremonies for kindergarten pupils in both public and private schools in the state, describing it as an abuse of academic symbols and an exploitative method by schools adopted by private schools.
Issa-Onilu, represented by the National Director, NOA’s Civic Values and Democracy Education, Dr Olukemi Afolayan, equally cautioned residents of the state on environmental practices, urging them to stop indiscriminate dumping of refuse, especially in drainage channels.
She equally appealed to Oyebanji to ban the indecent and harmful culture of ‘sign-out parties’ among students of primary, secondary and Tertiary Institutions in the state, noting that sign-out celebrations had increasingly become a breeding ground for immorality, drug abuse and violence.
“The textbook used by the older siblings should be used by pupils getting to the class, it’s an exploitative tendency. The Ekiti State Government should act on this fast.
“Sign-out has become a common practice among students, but the manner in which it is conducted raises serious concerns.
“It is not decent for boys to sign on sensitive parts of girls’ bodies, such as their breasts and buttocks and we strongly frown against this.
“In addition, many students resort to the use of drugs during sign-out ceremonies in order to boost their confidence.
“Some also use the day as an opportunity to carry out acts of revenge, leading to inter-school clashes and violent confrontations.
“If we continue to pretend that these issues do not exist, we will be causing long-term damage to our children. This is why we are appealing to the Ekiti State Government to place a ban on the sign-out practice, which has unfortunately become very common across the state”. She said
