The Osun State Government has blamed the continued closure of special needs schools across the state on withheld local government allocations and the freezing of state government accounts over an outstanding debt dispute.
The Commissioner for Education, Dipo Eluwole, disclosed this on Wednesday while addressing journalists at the School for the Handicapped in Osogbo, explaining that the financial constraints had crippled the government’s ability to provide feeding and other essential welfare services for students in residential schools.
Eluwole said the state operates 10 special needs boarding schools where students receive free accommodation and meals, adding that funding for their upkeep was sourced from local government allocations allegedly withheld since February last year.
According to the commissioner, the absence of these funds has made it increasingly difficult to sustain the services required to keep the schools running.
“Everybody knows that Osun State local government allocation has been withheld since February last year, and that is where the provision for the catering of these schools comes from. Accounts of the state government have also been frozen by the bank as a result of debt owed by the previous administration,” he said.
The commissioner further explained that the situation had been compounded by the freezing of the state government’s accounts following a court judgment obtained by a contractor over debts allegedly incurred by the previous administration.
He said the government was still making efforts to meet its salary obligations but could not guarantee the feeding and welfare of students living in the school hostels under the prevailing financial circumstances.
The development has raised concerns over the fate of children who depend on specialised educational facilities not only for classroom instruction but also for accommodation, meals and daily care.
For many students with special needs, residential schools provide essential support that may not be readily available at home. A prolonged disruption could therefore affect their academic progress, welfare and access to specialised learning services.
Eluwole disclosed that teachers had remained at their duty posts despite the disruption, adding that they had pledged to make up for the academic time lost when normal activities resume.
However, the commissioner did not specify when the affected schools would reopen or provide a timeline for restoring full operations.
He appealed to the Federal Government to release the withheld local government allocations, arguing that the funds were necessary to sustain the schools and meet the welfare needs of the students.
The government’s explanation has placed the plight of children with special needs at the centre of the wider dispute over Osun State’s local government finances and the reported freezing of State accounts.
