Oyo state government has rehabilitated a dilapidated school building and deployed four teachers to Community Primary School, Tewure-Ju, in Orire Local Government, following a report by The Liberalist. For more than five years, the school was in dire need of attention, with its deteriorating condition threatening child education in the community.
When The Liberalist visited the school in 2023, the signs of neglect were obvious, with its wrecked infrastructure. Only one teacher, Mrs Olawuyi, was left to teach the students, a task too big for one person. “Of the two buildings, one had fallen apart, now home to wild snakes and rodents, and the other is dilapidated,” the report reads.
In response to the story, the team at the Oyo State Government Feedback (OYSGfeedback) assured our reporter that the case would be escalated to relevant authorities for action. According to him, the team had previously been unaware of the school’s condition.
Speaking on the impact of the report, Mr. Mathew Oyekale, Chairman of the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), revealed that shortly after the publication, the PTA officials were invited to a meeting at the local government level.
“After the publication in 2023, I, along with other PTA officials, was invited to a meeting where we shared our schools’ conditions. Before then, we had written several letters to the government, but none yielded results until the report was published,” said Mr Oyekale.
“In fact, our school was included in the first batch of 105 schools approved for rehabilitation,” he explained.
Mr. Oyekale, now the Chairman of the School-Based Management Committee (SBMC), added that his committee played a crucial role in monitoring the rehabilitation project.
“I personally engaged with the engineer overseeing the construction, emphasising the need for a durable structure to prevent another collapse. He assured me of a quality job,” he stated.
The project commenced in May 2024 and was completed in November 2024. After the rehabilitation, the school now boasts a newly constructed block of three classrooms, fully furnished with chairs, desks, and whiteboards to enhance the teaching and learning process. The government also provided a solar-powered borehole and toilet facility.
During The Liberalist’s follow-up visit in February 2025, PTA teacher Mrs. Oluwuyi, who was the school’s sole educator in 2023, expressed immense relief and gratitude. She introduced The Liberalist reporter to the newly assigned teachers, crediting the publication for the school’s transformation.
“I’m very happy with this development. The workload has reduced drastically compared to before when I had to teach both nursery and primary classes alone,” she said.
