By Ade Oyeyemi
The Ondo State Government has subjected some public secondary school students accused of disrupting public peace during recent end-of-school sign-out celebrations to a four-week rehabilitation programme.
The initiative, organised by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, was carried out in partnership with the Nigerian Correctional Service, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency and the Ondo State Neuro-Psychiatric Specialist Hospital.
The Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Igbekele Ajibefun, disclosed this in Akure, saying the programme was designed to correct negative behaviour and discourage actions capable of threatening public safety.
Ajibefun said the government opted for counselling and rehabilitation rather than punitive measures that could jeopardise the students’ futures. He urged the beneficiaries to demonstrate responsible behaviour and said their names had been removed from the ministry’s “Black Book.”
The ministry’s Director of Guidance and Counselling, Continuous Assessment and Evaluation, Mrs Olufunke Ademuyiwa, said the students visited the psychiatric hospital and correctional centre in Akure, where they received counselling and participated in educational sessions with professionals.
She said the four-week programme included psycho-education, individual and group counselling, behavioural reflection and anger management, adding that the students had shown noticeable behavioural improvement.
The NCS spokesman in Ondo State, Oyewole Adedayo, warned the students against criminal conduct that could result in imprisonment, while urging parents and teachers to pay closer attention to children’s upbringing and behaviour.
The Chief Medical Director of the state Neuro-Psychiatric Specialist Hospital, Dr Sunday Sajo, and Magistrate Damilola Sekoni also urged the students to seek guidance from responsible adults and encouraged schools to strengthen regular orientation and counselling programmes.
