The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Pupil

  • Pupil wins painting competition

    Pupil wins painting competition

    Master Daniel Bankole, a Basic Six pupil of Joint-Heirs Primary School, Shomolu, Lagos Mainland, has won the Amila Painting Challenge at the grand finale held at the University of Lagos.

    The first runner-up was Master Chukwudi Kosi, a 13-year-old Basic Six pupil of Subuola Nursery and Primary School, Lawanson, Surulere, Lagos. Master Daniel Iwajomo, of St. Dominic’s Primary School, Yaba, Lagos, was second runner-up.

    The panel of four judges comprised two artists, an arts teacher and an arts journalist.

    The overall best pupil went home with N250,000 while first runner-up got N150,000 and the second runner-up – N100,000.

    The other 12 contestants got consolation prizes of N30,000 each while arts teachers of the three best pupils got N25,000 each. The winning schools will get art materials worth N250,000 .

    About 15 pupils, representing 15 of the 20 local government areas in Lagos, participated in the final stage of the competition.

    Promasidor Nigeria Limited, makers of Amila powdered soft drink, had last November flagged off the challenge in about 200 primary schools across 20 local government areas in Lagos State under the first stage of the competition.

    Under the first stage, an art teacher in each of the selected schools conducted a general painting competition among the pupils of the school to determine the best 10 pupils that would participate on the Amila Day, that is, the day of the activation from where an overall best winner emerged to represent the school at each local government level.

    At the second stage, the overall winner from the local government level got a branded Amila bicycle and Promasidor goodie bag.

    Earlier, in her address of welcome, Mrs. Abiola Inawo, Dairy Category and Food Enhancement Manager, Promasidor, said the competition commenced about six months ago with a press conference to herald it.

    She said the competition is all about making the children to have fun.

    According to her, we went to 100 public schools and 100 private schools in the 20 educational districts in Lagos State during the first stage of the competition after children in all schools were given opportunity to paint anything of their choices.

    The competition was in three stages, the first stage was at the school level where pupils painted any art of their choices. The winners from this level, represented their schools at the local government area for the second stage.

    At the second stage, the overall winner from the local government level got a branded Amila bicycle and Promasidor goodie bags.

    The third phase, which was the grand finale of the competition was graced by representatives of the arts and culture from 20 educational districts under the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).

  • Abducted four-year-old pupil found, 24 days after

    Four-year old Master Onyedikachukwu Ede, a nursery 1 pupil of Precious Child Foundation School, Agu Uwani, Akwuke, Enugu, who was abducted from the school premises on November 5, 2012, has been found.

    He was said to have been found at a bus stop at Garriki, Awkunanaw Enugu on Thursday evening.

    A good Nigerian found the abandoned child crying while roaming the street and took him to the nearest police station at Awkunanaw.

    Little Onyedikachi  went to school on the fateful day and a lady called Sister Faith, who lived in the neighbourhood with a boy friend, came to the Precious Foundation School on the pretense that she was taking him away to buy him something to eat when the school dismissed.

    Unknown to the school proprietor, Mr. Chidi Okonkwo, the said ‘Sister Faith’ had ulterior motive, and so they released the child only to learn later that the lady made away with the child.

    It was learnt that what prompted the school head to release the child to the lady in question was because she had come to the school the previous Friday, November 2, prior to the fateful Monday, and convinced the proprietor that the boy was known to her.

    It was also gathered that Onyekachi’s mother died immediately he was born four years ago on March 14, 2009 and that was what made it possible for everybody in the neighbourhood to smother him with love because he is living with a single parent with his other siblings who are older than him.

    As a result of the disappearance of the lady with the child, the school proprietor; Sister Faith’s boy friend, keke driver and his landlord were arrested by the police and kept in detention ever since, while investigation into the matter continued.

    Sources said that while the child was missing, his father, Mr. Michael Ede, went to a prayer house where he learnt that his child was not dead but alive and that the lady did not know how to return him.

    According to the story, the deity where they took him for ritual purposes did not  accept his blood for sacrifices.

    It was jubilation galore on Thursday night throughout Agu Uwani, Akwuke when the news broke out that the missing child had been found 24 days after he disappeared, hale and hearty.

    People trooped the Awkunanaw Police Station, Thursday night, to catch a glimpse of the missing child.

    The Enugu police spokesman, Ebere Amaraizu, confirmed the incident but did not say whether the child has been released to the parent or whether the police will still continue to detain the school proprietor and others in SARS custody.

  • Pupils to learn Chinese language

    Lagos State will introduce Mandarin or Chinese Language in public schools’ curriculum from next session, Commissioner for Education Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye has said.
    In a statement by the Ministry’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Lanre Bajulaiye, the commissioner said learning the language would be an opportunity for pupils to speak it and adapt to Chinese culture.

    The commissioner spoke after a meeting with a delegation from the Chinese Confucius Institute, University of Lagos.

    Prof. Caleb Orimoogunje, Director of the Institute, said the institution was ready to assist the state with logistics to make the teaching and learning of the language easier.
    Orimoogunje added that Prof. Lirong Jiang, a co-director of the institute, would help in the take-off of the programme.

    Jiang said the institute, as a representative of the Chinese culture in Nigeria, was set up to satisfy people’s need about the country’s culture. She said the language became necessary because China had become the new destination for economic growth and technological development.

    Jiang said: “The Institute is prepared to provide Chinese instructors to teach the language and the culture in the state’s public schools as soon as the Memorandum of Understanding is signed between the state and the institute.

    The knowledge of Chinese language will help students to further their studies in China and carry out research in various fields of human endeavour as China has become a success story in the world economy.”