The Oyo State Government has announced the suspension of all school excursions, field trips and outdoor student activities until further notice over security concerns.
This is coming on the heels of the recent attack on schools, particularly, the last week’s invasion of Ahoro-Esinele Community High School, Yaota Baptist Nursery and Primary School, and L.A Primary School by suspected gunmen.
The incident which occurred in Oriire Local Government Area of the state led to the abduction of seven teachers and over 35 students.
With the kidnapped victims still in captivity, the Oyo state government ordered the suspension of school excursions and all outdoor events.
The directive is contained in a circular issued on Friday by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.
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The circular was signed by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mrs B.T. Oyinloye, and distributed to education stakeholders across the state.
Recipients included chairmen of TESCOM and SUBEB, tutor-generals, zonal directors, principals, head teachers and local inspectors of education.
Oyinloye said the decision became necessary to safeguard students and school staff amid prevailing security concerns across the state.
“In view of the recent security concerns, the Ministry is taking steps to safeguard the lives of students and members of staff,” she said.
The Permanent Secretary directed school administrators to halt excursions, sports competitions and all activities requiring students to leave school premises.
“All school administrators are hereby directed to suspend all excursions, field trips, sports competitions and related activities until further notice,” she added.
Oyinloye said the government has also cancelled all approvals earlier granted for such activities across public and private schools in the state.
“Prior approvals granted by the Ministry are hereby overridden by this directive,” she said.
She stressed that students’ safety remained the government’s highest priority above academic and extracurricular engagements.
“The safety of our children is non-negotiable and takes precedence over all academic and extracurricular activities,” Oyinloye said.
School authorities were further instructed to ensure students remained within school premises during official school hours.
Administrators were also urged to promptly report suspicious activities around schools to security agencies within their jurisdictions.
“This directive takes immediate effect and will be reviewed as soon as the security situation improves,” she added.
The ministry urged all affected institutions to ensure strict compliance with the directive pending further review.
