‘Prioritise education’

By Jane Chijioke

The president of Old Boys Grammarian Society of CMS Grammar School, Bariga,  Olu Vincent has called on the Federal Government to make significant budget allocation to the education sector for improved productivity in the sector.

He said the decadence in the sector reflected government’s neglect to address issues facing the sector.

He spoke at the Merit Award Ceremony organised by the Old Boys of the school.

He said: “The government must understand that education is capital intensive. They need to invest heavily in the sector so that we can get the best out from our students and they can also contribute meaningfully to the development of the society”

However, he noted that growth in the education sector also requires the contribution of old students associations to their alma mater mostly in areas of dire need in the schools.

He said the merit award ceremony was  to appreciate old boys  who have achieved certain level of development either in their individual career fields,  contributed immensely to the growth of the school or  have attained prominent level in the society.

According to him, the awardeees were selected based on these criteria to motivate them to do more not  just for the school but also contribute to the socio-economic and political  developmemt of the country.

Vincent said since 2001, the old boys had contributed over a billion naira to revamp the school.  Some of the projects embarked on included: a new ultra-modern hostel; staff quarters, renovation of the school hall with full air- conditioning; donation of a 100KVA generator; borehole, Olympic-size swimming pool, school gate,  new chapel, lawn tennis court and library.

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“We are currently building a N250m e-library for the school and also putting money to enhance the capacity of the teachers. We have a teacher training programme where N1m is donated every year, dedicated to training and enhancing our teachers on yearly basis. Again, for the best teacher for each subject, we award a sum of N50,000 just to motivate them. Teachers are not well remunerated, so we are trying to assist them. We are also looking at building a staff quarters that would accommodate  all the teachers on the school premises,” he added.

The chairman of the merit award committee, Dipo Arigbede said the awardees have not only contributed their quota to the human race but have represented the school by maintaining a clean slate in their political    careers and other professions in the country.

Categories of the awards include  Posthumous, life time achievement, Grammarians of honour, individual award among others.

One of the awardees, Biyi Otegbeye, Founder and Group Managing Director of Regency Alliance Insurance Plc said the award is a celebration  of legacy, traditions and values  of the old boys to the country. He advised  that old students  should show active support and cultivate the habit of giving back to  their alma mater as there are existing challenges which the government alone cannot solve.