Ikorodu Oga Development Association (IKODASS) and educational Stakeholders in Ikorodu on Saturday, converged at Eroz Place, Ikorodu to discuss and proffer solutions to some of the challenges confronting education in the community.
Welcoming stakeholders to the event tagged; Taking A Second Look at Education in Ikorodu, IKODASS Chairman, Mr Rotimi Erogbogbo decried the state of public schools in the community, noting that it was time for stakeholders to address the challenges.
Erogbogbo also noted that, the participants at the event were carefully selected to cut across key stakeholders in the Ikorodu education sector, with a view to finding lasting solutions to educational challenges in the community.
Addressing the gathering, President, National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Alh Olawale Hamzat decried the state of over population in many public schools in Ikorodu. He therefore charged the Lagos State Government to build more schools, in response to the growing population of the community.
In his submission, the NUT Chairman, Ikorodu Chapter, Mr Oluwafemi Fakolade siad there was the need to engage the men of Lagos State Neighbourhood Corps for proper monitoring of school children during and after school hours to guide against students roaming the streets during school hours.
The DPO, Ikorodu police station, CSP Balogun in his presentation enumerated some of the contributing factors to school menace to include peer pressure, illicit drugs sold by unregistered medicine stores and sale of hard drugs to school children by local herb (Agbo Jedi) sellers. He stressed the need for these collaborators to be dealt with by the authority so that lives of the students can be redeemed.
The police boss also suggested the deliberate involvement of parents in the education of their children, so that some ignorant ones among them can appreciate the issues at hand by cooperating with the authorities anytime punishment is meted out to erring children.
He also mentioned the need for the promotion and celebration of merit among school students so they can embrace academic excellence and shun social vices.
The event, which was also streamed live via Zoom had participants joining from the Diaspora.
One of the participant and an Ikorodu resident, Mr Bode Brown, who called into the programme from London also decried the current state of security in Ikorodu, noting that the rate of crime reported in the community was not so in the past.
The summit, which was well attended was concluded with the drafting of a communique to be conveyed to the Lagos State Government and other concerned stakeholders for consideration and execution.
