Ondo Govt Chooses Rehabilitation Over Punishment for WASSCE Students
The Ondo State Government has completed the rehabilitation and reorientation of students from Oyemekun Grammar School and Aquinas College, Akure, who were involved in a widely criticised celebration after completing their West African Senior School Certificate Examination. The students had featured in a viral video showing them on the streets, tearing their school uniforms, chanting inappropriate slogans and engaging in other indecent acts following their final papers. The state Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said the four-week rehabilitation programme was conducted during the holiday in partnership with the Nigerian Correctional Service, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency and the Ondo State Neuro-Psychiatric Specialist Hospital. Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Igbekele Ajibefun, said the initiative was designed to correct negative behaviour, promote discipline and responsible conduct, and help the students understand the consequences of actions capable of threatening public safety. He said the government deliberately opted for counselling and rehabilitation rather than punitive measures that could damage the students’ future.
Ajibefun assured the students and their parents that their names had been permanently removed from the Black Book and that their previously withheld WASSCE certificates would be released. The programme included psycho-education, individual and group counselling, behavioural reflection and anger management, with the students also taken on educational and counselling visits to the Neuro-Psychiatric Specialist Hospital and Correctional Centre in Akure. The ministry said the students showed significant positive changes and had expressed willingness to encourage other young people to make better choices, while officials would continue monitoring them to sustain the progress achieved. The Ondo State NDLEA Command urged the students to make responsible choices about their actions and associations, while the Nigerian Correctional Service advised them to avoid activities that could lead to imprisonment. The service also called on teachers to strengthen student monitoring and urged parents and guardians to pay closer attention to the upbringing and behaviour of their children.
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