The Bishop of Ijebu Anglican Diocese, Rt Revd Peter Rotimi Oludipe has decried the deplorable state of mission schools taken over by the Ogun State government, stressing the neglect of these schools by successive governments.
The Bishop who spoke at the thanksgiving service to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Anglican Girls Grammar School, Ijebu Ode on Sunday, said the takeover of mission schools in Ogun State was not a blessing, hence the agitation for their return to their founding fathers.
Since the government takeover, he said moral decadence had set in with cultism on the rise. “It’s a serious situation, the society is getting more corrupted and government seems to lack the capacity to maintain discipline. This calls for serious retrospection. Gay and lesbianism are taking over. School counsellors are overwhelmed by the number of students disoriented. Poverty level is high and many parents are not taking care of their children.’’
He explained that the government was not interested in developing the schools. “They build one structure and make a noise over it, but the majority of schools are in bad shape,’’ he said.
To him, if the government schools in Ijebu Ode are this bad, the situation of schools in rural areas would be worse.
He said that the neglect prompted the Anglican church to establish the AGGS (Private) school since the court ruled that both schools should co-exist. “The entire labour of the Anglican Church in building our mission schools has been lost,’’ he lamented . “The school is not government property, people laboured.”
He charged the old students to return the old glory of AGGS. “We cannot afford to fold our hands. We must all rise to intervene. So, make up your mind to make a difference.’’
The Old Students Association of the Anglican Girls Grammar School, Ijebu-Ode refurbished 16 buildings within the school compound as part of activities to mark the platinum jubilee.
It also erected structures to check erosion in the school and constructed a building that could serve as offices and classrooms to improve the quality of infrastructure in the school.
