The Ondo State Government has rehabilitated students of Oyemekun Grammar School and Aquinas College who were involved in disturbances during end-of-school “sign-out” celebrations following the West African Senior School Certificate Examination.
The government said the students had undergone a four-week rehabilitation and reorientation programme designed to address their behaviour, promote responsible conduct and help them understand the consequences of actions that threaten public safety.
As part of the intervention, the government said the students’ names had been permanently removed from its Black Book and that their withheld West African Senior School Certificate Examination certificates would be released.
The programme was organised during the school holiday by the Ondo State Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in collaboration with the Nigerian Correctional Service, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency and the Ondo State Neuro-Psychiatric Specialist Hospital.
The Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Igbekele Ajibefun, said the government had deliberately chosen rehabilitation and counselling instead of measures that could adversely affect the students’ future.
Speaking at an event at the ministry’s conference room, Mr Ajibefun said the initiative was intended to combine discipline with opportunities for the students to change their behaviour and pursue their education.
“What you have done has been totally forgiven because you have undergone the desired change,” Mr Ajibefun told the students.
He urged them to maintain responsible conduct, saying their actions represented not only themselves but also their families and the country.
The commissioner said the ministry would continue to monitor the students to ensure that the behavioural changes achieved during the rehabilitation programme were sustained.
He also commended officials of the ministry, law enforcement agencies and professionals who participated in the programme.
The Director of Guidance and Counselling, Continuous Assessment and Evaluation in the ministry, Olufunke Ademuyiwa, said the programme included psycho-education, individual and group counselling, behavioural reflection and anger management.
Mrs Ademuyiwa said the students had shown significant positive changes and demonstrated a willingness to encourage other young people to make responsible choices.
She said the students visited the Ondo State Neuro-Psychiatric Specialist Hospital and the Correctional Centre in Akure, where they participated in educational tours and counselling sessions with professionals.
The Public Relations Officer of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Ondo State Command, Oyewole Adedayo, warned the students against criminal activities that could eventually result in imprisonment.
Mr Adedayo also urged teachers to strengthen their monitoring of students and emphasised the role of parents and guardians in raising responsible children.
He said some inmates were products of broken homes, stressing the need for parents and guardians to pay closer attention to the upbringing and behaviour of their children.
The Ondo State Commandant of the NDLEA, Gabriel Folayemi, commended the government and other participants for the rehabilitation initiative.
Mr Folayemi, who was represented by the Assistant State Commandant for Counselling, Treatment and Rehabilitation, Funmilayo Bamisaye, reminded the students that they had the power to make responsible choices.
He also recommended the establishment of a platform for continuous mentoring of young people displaying similar behavioural patterns, describing such an initiative as a possible preventive measure.
The Chief Medical Director of the Ondo State Neuro-Psychiatric Specialist Hospital, Sunday Sajo, described the rehabilitation programme as a positive development and urged the government to sustain it.
Dr Sajo advised the students to maintain relationships with responsible older people who could provide guidance, mentorship and support as they continue their education and transition into adulthood.
Magistrate Damilola Sekoni also recommended regular orientation and counselling programmes in schools to help students understand acceptable conduct and the consequences of their actions.
He cautioned the rehabilitated students against repeating the offences that resulted in their participation in the programme.
The principals of Oyemekun Grammar School and Aquinas College thanked the state government for the intervention and urged the students to maintain good behaviour.
They also encouraged the students to become positive examples to their peers and demonstrate the behavioural changes they had reportedly achieved during the rehabilitation exercise.