Date: 2017-05-31

A front-line international legal practitioner, Dr Alimi Abdulrazaq, in Ilorin yesterday advocated the return of privately established public schools to their original owners.

He said handing over of such schools to their proprietors would guarantee full control, efficient management and improved academic performance.

In an interview with Journalists at the grand finale of the 50th anniversary of Government High School, formerly Ilorin College, Ilorin, Abdulrazaq decried the state of infrastructures in most of the public schools across the country.

He said the condition of the infrastructures called for urgent attention to rescue education sector from the imminent collapse.

Abdulrazaq pointed out that most of the schools, which were pride of the nation in the past, are lacking instructional facilities such as laboratories and well equipped classrooms.

The legal luminary stated that government must deploy more resources to the sector for efficient service delivery.

"The state of infrastructures in most of public schools, especially those privately established leaves a lot to be desired. We cannot continue to deride or pay little attention to education as it were and think we are making progress.

"Government must do more within its limited resources to improve on the standard of facilities and academic delivery of students.

"And I want to suggest that for us to restore the glory of the past, the government should return schools to their original owners for adequate and proper maintenance. This would in turn, ensure quality academic delivery and efficient management", the legal icon said.

Abdulrazaq also urged old students of Government High School to contribute their quota to the infrastructural development of their Alma Mater, pointing out that school management cannot be left in the hands of government alone.

It would be recalled that owners of missionary schools recently made similar call for the return of those schools now within the purview of government control to their original founders for quality service delivery.