Edo State Acting Governor, Philip Shaibu, has ordered partial closure of Ihogbe College and Oba Akenzua Secondary School, to allow the state government, parents and a mentorship committee to provide solutions to cult-related activities among students in the schools.
Ihogbe College and Oba Akenzua are the schools where students cultists engaged themselves in a fight using cutlasses and knives.
Shaibu said this in Benin on Monday during a meeting between government and parents of the students at the school.
He said the schools would be shut for a week with only those in Senior Secondary School 3 (SS3) and Junior Secondary School (JSS3) allowed into school since others students have finished their exams.
According to him, this would enable a mentorship committee set up to address clashes in the schools, come up with effective approaches to resolving the lingering issues and set the template for the students to imbibe acceptable social behaviours and good morals.
“We cannot allow cultism in our secondary schools in Edo state. We have to stamp our authority in these two schools. We cannot allow rivalry and cult clashes among students. That is why we have to come in to deal with the issue of morals.
“Something went wrong and that is what we must correct. That is why we have set up the mentorship committee and closed the school to investigate the root cause of this incident and find solutions.”
He said the students need serious moral rearmament to refocus their minds toward education, adding that they can’t do it without involving parents.
“The teacher will play his or her role; the government will play theirs, but the feedback and follow up from home is critical. That is why we have to bring the parents in,” he said.
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