Ibadan — Oyo State government has said that another batch of 1, 200 teachers would be recruited to enable the government fight, headlong, mass failures of students, especially in the core science subjects in examinations.

Aside, the government through Professor Taoheed Adedoja, the state Commissioner for Education expressed displeasure at the continued spurning of rural posting by teachers in the state and resolved henceforth rural posting will attract extra 15 per cent of basic salary for teachers.

Adedoja told newsmen in Ibadan that the addition was outside another 10 per cent extra payment for teachers in the core science subjects.

Adedoja, who spoke with newsmen on the dwindling standard of education in the state, maintained that the government having realised the problem facing education would spare no effort in addressing it.

One of such solutions, according to him would be the setting up of a Council on Education, which would comprise of stakeholders in the educations sector whose duties would be to advise the government on critical issues in the education sector.

Adedoja revealed that the desire is to be pro-active in the repositioning of education to meet the challenges of today and re-strategise for the future of the children of the state.

The commissioner lamented that the result of the just released 2009 WAEC revealed that only 14.2% of the candidates that sat for the examination passed nationwide with five credits and above including in mathematics and English language.

"This is disturbing; a situation where at the 2009 NECO, only 7.2 per cent of the candidate had five credits and above in English Language and mathematics, calls for public concern. How can Nigeria catch up with the world where only 15.9 per cent of its students that sat for NABTEB had the required credit passes?

He feared that the results being posted were indication of official neglect of technical education which is the hub for technological development.

Aside from the nationwide mass failure, Adedoja was unhappy that the South West states which used to be the center of education in the past appeared to be losing to complacence, adding that the overall result was disturbing and a national disaster.

"If we cannot declare a state of emergency in the power sector then we ought to declare a state of emergency in the power sector.

He stated that the decline of the education sector holds graver implications for the private and public sector with attendant social, economic and political consequences for the nation and the entire South West in general.