The Ogun State Government has suspended
the Principal, Ajuwon Senior High School, Ajuwon, Ifo Local Government
Area, Ogun State, Olufunke Oladeojobi, for allegedly conducting
virginity test on her pupils.
Commissioner for Education, Science and
Technology, Mr. Segun Odubela, told our correspondent on the phone on
Wednesday that Oladeojobi had been suspended.
Odubela said, “A five-man committee
comprising officials of the Ministry of Education and the state Teaching
Service Commission has been set up to investigate Oladeojobi.
“The committee has been mandated to
report back to the government in 14 days. Right now, all I can tell you
is that we have suspended her pending the conclusion of investigation.”
The
government’s resolution came after Odubela and senior officials of the
ministry quizzed the principal for over two hours on Wednesday.
“She was quizzed for over two hours and she denied carrying out the test. Rather, she said she only threatened the pupils.
“In view of this, we want to appeal to pupils and their parents to come forward whenever they are invited.”
Odubela, in a statement, added that the
government was always concerned about the welfare and interest of
students and therefore would not tolerate any act that would compromise
their fundamental rights or jeopardise their future.
He said, “We equally believe in the need
to maintain discipline in our schools and to follow due process in the
handling of this particular case.
“We appeal to the parents of the
students involved to be patient and allow us to handle the case as
dictated by the law of the land and service rules.”
Oladeojobi, a reverend, was said to have
on December 10 invited a nurse to the school to carry out virginity
tests on a group of 10 students.
The principal, who the pupils described
as a strict disciplinarian, did not seek the consent of the
parents/guardians of the pupils before conducting the test.
During the test, it was alleged that the
principal and the nurse whose name could not be ascertained dipped
their fingers into the pupils’ private part.
But the matter got out of hand when one of the pupils started bleeding after she had been ‘tested.’
Parents of the pupils later stormed the school in protest resulting in the invitation of policemen from Ajuwon Division.
The Divisional Police Officer, Ajuwon
Division, Mr. Waheed Yusuf, had on Tuesday confirmed that Oladeojobi was
quizzed last week Thursday and Friday.
A police source said she confessed to carrying out the test, saying ‘she was trying to help them.’
When our correspondent contacted Oladeojobi on the telephone on Wednesday, she refused to speak on the matter.
“I don’t have time to give any explanation, please I have a meeting,” she said and hung up.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi, said he had yet to be briefed on the incident.-PUNCH
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