Following the death of an 11-year-old student of Dowen College, Sylvester Oromoni, the school has announced new plans concerning its administration.
Sylvester’s died under controversial circumstances in November 2021 and his death went viral following a social media post by his cousin, Perry Oromoni, who alleged that some senior pupils of the school beat him up in his hostel because he refused to join a cult.
But the school denied the claim, stating that the boy complained of leg pains following an injury he sustained while playing football.
The state government ordered the indefinite closure of the school pending the outcome of an investigation into the matter.
In a statement on Thursday titled ‘Dowen College shares plans going forward: A new chapter’, the school, again, condoled with Sylvester’s parents for his death and went on to reveal new plans for the school.
The statement partly read, “The Dowen College Family has had to rethink how best to reassure the public of our best intentions and how the interest of all parties can best be served in sustaining and growing the good and privileged legacy of the school.
“We have worked on enhancing our safeguarding, monitoring processes and policies to ensure better oversight functions within the school. We are also reviewing our policies with our parents, staff and students to ensure strict compliance and best practices are adhered to going forward.
“As we review our processes, the school authority will not hesitate to relieve anyone responsible for administrative lapses in the duties of their positions. We are keen on ensuring that this type of situation never arises again.
“More significantly, the founding members of the Board of Governors including the Founder and Chairman of the Board, Dr. Olumide Phillips (PhD, FNSE, FNSChe, FAEng) who have worked tirelessly over the years to develop outstanding children both in and out of the school, have chosen to retire and pass the baton of change to a new generation of seasoned professionals who will run with the vision, leadership passion, commitment and values they have worked vigorously to establish.
“This will also enhance communication and effectiveness with the Parents Teachers Forum.”
The school also revealed that they were working with the Lagos State Government to ensure that they improved in the required areas. (Punch)
