The founder of the Opeyemi David Falegan Foundation (ODF), Opeyemi David Falegan, said that the Nigerian education system suffers from inadequate infrastructure.
He noted that many schools lacked basic facilities such as classrooms, desks, and chairs, which resulted in overcrowding in classrooms by the students.
Falegan stated this while distributing 5,200 free Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) forms to candidates from all local government areas across Ekiti State for the 2024 examination exercise.
According to him, “This has resulted in overcrowding, with some classrooms having up to 100 students per teacher,
“Also For years, Nigeria’s allocation to the education sector has been below the recommended benchmark for developing nations; therefore, I urge the government to do something about it by increasing it.
” I want the students to study courses that are economically relevant because some courses of study are already outdated and not economically relevant to modern-day progress.”
Falegan, describing the gesture as his Education Support Programme scheme to support parents and students in the state, said, “The rationale behind this exercise is to encourage Ekiti youth and many brilliant students from poor homes or backgrounds who may wish to further their education to a higher level but couldn’t do so because their parents couldn’t afford the fees.”
“There are also orphans who have lost their parents without having anyone to cater for them educationally,” he said.
Parents and students, who spoke with newsmen, were full of appreciation for the philanthropist, describing him as a true son of Ekiti.