The Osun State Government has dismissed allegations by the All Progressives Congress (APC) that public schools in the state are suffering from poor infrastructure and a shortage of teachers.

The rebuttal was issued in Osogbo by Temitope Mustapha, Chairman of the Osun State Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM), during a workshop for members of the state’s timetable committee.

Mustapha said the administration of Governor Ademola Adeleke has prioritised education, ensuring that both urban and rural schools benefit from ongoing development programmes.

“No school is going into extinction in Osun State. Our students in rural areas have performed excellently in external examinations, including NECO and WASSCE,” he stated.

He further claimed that improved academic outcomes have helped the state move from 30th to 7th position in national education rankings.

Mustapha also dismissed reports of school closures in rural communities, describing them as false and attributing such claims to “enemies of progress.”

“The insinuation that rural schools are closing down is false. Under this administration, no such thing has happened and it will not happen,” he said.

According to him, newly recruited teachers have been deployed to underserved areas to improve staffing levels across public schools. He also urged timetable officers to remain professional, noting that teachers excluding principals and vice principals are expected to handle 24 teaching periods weekly.

However, the Director-General of the APC Campaign Committee for the August 15 governorship election, Wole Oke, had earlier criticised the state government, alleging poor resource management.

“We don’t have school buildings, we don’t have teachers, and our children are no longer attending public schools,” Oke claimed.

The exchange highlights rising political tensions ahead of the Osun governorship election, with education increasingly emerging as a central campaign issue.