The Nation Newspaper

Tag: pupils

  • Foundation lifts 220 pupils

    Foundation lifts 220 pupils

    Hundreds of indigent primary school pupils have been saved from dropping out of school by a non-governmental organisation (NGO). Ojo Ibukun Foundation.

    The public service organisation has adopted 220 pupils in primary schools in Eredo Local Council Development Area of Lagos.

    Under an event tagged Indigent Pupils’ Adoption Programme (IPAP), the foundation said it is out to help the less privileged and eradicate poverty in the rural communities.

    The foundation donated kits to the pupils.

    Each pupil got a school bag, two pairs of uniform, a pair of sandals, two pairs of socks, exercise books, biro and pencils.

    Unveiling its objectives at Paym Events Centre in Okegbowo, Eredo, foundation’s convener, Shamsideen Adeniyi, told The Nation that his childhood experience led to IPAP’s establishment.

    Adeniyi said: ‘’I was brought up in Eredo community. I know what poverty is all about and I believe one can be his brother’s keeper by giving out to the less privileged ones. Like I always say, once you can afford three square meals, you can afford to feed another man. I looked around and realised that a lot of people need help. So, I was inspired to assist the indigents.

    “In Ojo Ibukun, we believe public service is not and should not be limited to political office holders. We believe we should always find a way to serve humanity of which we are integral part of. We strongly believe that giving is not of abundance but out of love. Therefore, the IPAP is designed to symbolically adopt an indigent child and provide him with the basic necessity of education which might have not been covered by the Lagos State Free Primary Education Policy’’.

    Adeniyi, the former Secretary to Eredo LCDA lamented the rate of children deprived of education because of poverty, saying “It is disheartening in this modern age to see little kids through no fault of theirs but accident of birth going to school with torn uniforms and some even without shoes or writing materials while their classmates are properly kitted.

    “Ojo Ibukun Foundation is a platform for joint effort in philanthropy. We want to proof that we can achieve great things in small measure collectively. We can all put together our widows’ mite and achieve success in a task that ordinarily insurmountable for individual.

    ‘’To adopt a child under this programme, all an individual needs to do is to pay the sum of N5,000 (the cost of two pairs of uniform, school bag, a pair of sandal, two pairs of socks, exercise books and writing materials) to a dedicated account which is to be managed by highly reputable individuals.”

    Adeniyi urged the beneficiaries to focus on their education in order to be successful in life.

    Many dignitaries at the event including Hon Segun Olulade, Chairman, Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Health, recollected how lack of school sandals and uniforms almost stalled their educational careers.

    They said they were at one point or another rescued by family members, friends and well-meaning individuals to procure school materials for them to continue their education.

    They all hailed Adeniyi for the initiative and donated towards the continuation of the project.

    One of the principal guests, Hon Wasiu Odeyemi, Commissioner 111 in the Lagos State Civil Service Commission, adopted 120 pupils on behalf of his late parent’s foundation, Hassmowum.

    Odeyemi, who also recounted his struggling days in meeting up with school’s demand, donated N600,000 naira to the foundation.

  • Old Boys reward pupils in Owerri

    Old Boys reward pupils in Owerri

    To the Old Boys, it simply is not enough to be fond of your alma mater, or to rehabilitate some of its failing infrastructure; you also should motivate and inspire younger pupils to excel.

    That is exactly what the 1996 set of  the Government College Owerri is doing. Their association has invested their time, energy and resources in  their alma mater, helping it to keep abreast of the times. But they have also instituted an annual competition in Mathematics, with winners taking home handsome rewards.

    This year’s edition of the completion which is the fifth in the series, according to the President, Mr Uche Nwogu, an engineer, was divided into two segments of junior and senior categories.

    He said that the initiative, supported by all the members of the 1996 set, especially those in the Diaspora, USA and UK, was a way of giving back to the very school that moulded them into responsible citizens and also to encourage learning among the students and reward hard work.

    The president who was accompanied to the presentation of award to winners of this year’s edition by the Secretary, Emeka Udeogu and other members of the group including Mr. Nnadozie Njoku, Amara Njemanze, an architect, among others, advised the students to keep faith and work hard and become successful Nigerians, adding that “there is no short cut to hard work.”

    He said, “We chose to organise the mathematics competition to encourage the students to work hard. They should avoid paying to pass exams but take their studies seriously. Apart from that, this is one of the ways we are giving back to our alma mater”.

    The president advised that entrepreneurial studies should be included in secondary school curriculum to give the students skill acquisitions that will make them self-reliant.

    Corroborating the president’s statement, Njemanze added that the group is also involved in career mentoring.

    “We also mentor the students on how to choose their careers and also carry out social outreach where we assist the teachers in several ways,” he said.

    He particularly commended members of the group in UK and USA for their contributions towards the success of this year’s edition of the Mathematics completion.

    Meanwhile, winners of the both category, got N50, 000.00 cash reward, while the first and second runner up got N30, 000.00 and N20, 000.00 respectively.

    Addressing the students at the Assembly ground, where the prizes were presented to the winners, the Principal of the College, Mr. Obiyo Richard, admonished the students that greatness comes from hard work mere wishes.

  • Pupils show creativity at Indomie event

    Empty cartons and wrappers of Indomie Noodles were put to creative use by primary school pupils that are members of the Indomie Fan Club during the 2nd Special Arts and Crafts exhibition, organised by Dufil Prima Foods in Lagos, last week.

    The Indomie ‘Team yourself up’ competition saw pupils aged five to 12 team up to construct multi-storey buildings, aeroplanes, rockets, fans, trucks, stove, estates, and so many other objects, using Indomie cartons and wrappers as materials.

    Over 60,000 entries were received nationwide. But only a few hundreds shortlisted for the final were on display at the firm’s headquarters in Surulere, Lagos.

    Head of marketing, Dufil Prima Foods, Mr Girish Sharma, said the aim of the competition was to inspire creativity in pupils.

    “The objective is to promote talent in Nigerian children. The challenge was to get the children to team up and come up with something they could ordinarily not have achieved on their own,” he said.

    National Co-ordinator of Indomie Fan Club, Mrs. Faith Joshua, said the desire to teach children the essence of collaboration inspired the competition.

    “Part of the underlying principle we wanted to inculcate in the kids through this competition is the importance of collaboration, division of labour, and the enormous strength in our diversity, as kids were required to work in groups with anyone of their choice whom they felt could bring their ideas to reality. Today, we are here to see the outstanding products borne from hard work and joint work,” she said.

    The firm’s Group Public Relations and Events Manager, Mr. Tope Ashiwaju, said the selection process for the works that made the final was thorough as teams visited the schools to ensure that pupils did the work by themselves.

    “We did school visitation so the art works were confirmed by their art teachers because they had to work with their art teachers. There are some works that are not here today because they were adjudged to have been professionally done,” he said.

    The best entry will get N100,000; while the first and second runners-up would receive cash prizes of N75,000 and N50,000.

    Also present at the event was last year’s winner of the competition, Master Gabriel Akinyosoye from Peaceful Heights School, Owode, Ogun State.

  • NGO fetes pupils

    A non-governmental organisation, Service and Service International, treated some public and private school pupils to a funfair children’s party at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos

    The party, which held at the SWAN Secretariat in the stadium precint, featured activities such as dance, writing, poem recitation, fashion and parade, which were keenly competed by the pupils.

    Obele Community High School, Surulere won the fashion parade and the drama competition, while Sommset College, Surulere won the singing competition.

    Keceed Private School, Egbeda won the dancing competition while Gbaja Senior High School won the spoken words competition.

    Coordinator of the NGO, Chinwe Odibe, said the programme, which is the third in its series, was organised to showcase the pupils’ creativity and help them unwind.

    She said: “We want them to be in a fun-filled environment as it is a day set aside to celebrate children nationally so we want to ensure that we make the day a memorable one for them.”

    Attah Clement, a pupil of Gbaja Senior High School said he was happy to be part of the event.

    “I am very happy that the organisers organised these event for us. They made us happy by celebrating us in this Special way,” he said.

    The winners were rewarded with school bags, accessories and books.

     

  • Pupils show creativity at Indomie event

    Empty cartons and wrappers of Indomie Noodles were put to creative use by primary school pupils that are members of the Indomie Fan Club during the 2nd Special Arts and Crafts exhibition, organised by Dufil Prima Foods in Lagos, last week.

    The Indomie ‘Team yourself up’ competition saw pupils aged five to 12 team up to construct multi-storey buildings, aeroplanes, rockets, fans, trucks, stove, estates, and so many other objects, using Indomie cartons and wrappers as materials.

    Over 60,000 entries were received nationwide. But only a few hundreds shortlisted for the final were on display at the firm’s headquarters in Surulere, Lagos.

    Head of marketing, Dufil Prima Foods, Mr Girish Sharma, said the aim of the competition was to inspire creativity in pupils.

    “The objective is to promote talent in Nigerian children. The challenge was to get the children to team up and come up with something they could ordinarily not have achieved on their own,” he said.

    National Co-ordinator of Indomie Fan Club, Mrs. Faith Joshua, said the desire to teach children the essence of collaboration inspired the competition.

    “Part of the underlying principle we wanted to inculcate in the kids through this competition is the importance of collaboration, division of labour, and the enormous strength in our diversity, as kids were required to work in groups with anyone of their choice whom they felt could bring their ideas to reality. Today, we are here to see the outstanding products borne from hard work and joint work,” she said.

    The firm’s Group Public Relations and Events Manager, Mr. Tope Ashiwaju, said the selection process for the works that made the final was thorough as teams visited the schools to ensure that pupils did the work by themselves.

    “We did school visitation so the art works were confirmed by their art teachers because they had to work with their art teachers. There are some works that are not here today because they were adjudged to have been professionally done,” he said.

    The best entry will get N100,000; while the first and second runners-up would receive cash prizes of N75,000 and N50,000.

    Also present at the event was last year’s winner of the competition, Master Gabriel Akinyosoye from Peaceful Heights School, Owode, Ogun State.

  • Elumelu urges pupils on entrepreneurship

    Elumelu urges pupils on entrepreneurship

    Chairman of UBA Plc Mr Tony Elumelu has advised pupils to give early consideration to entrepreneurship so as to prepare themselves for gainful employment after leaving school.

    He spoke to pupils of Loyola Jesuit Memorial College, Port Harcourt, the Rivers State at the weekend.

    The Jesuit Memorial College (JCM) was set up to honour the memory of the 60 students of Loyola Jesuit School in Abuja that lost their lives in a plane crash in Port Harcourt on December 10, 2005.

    Elumelu said: “I was once a student, and in my time, things out there were even rougher than they are now. But the education and training I received in my youth helped me a long way. In the same way, I urged the students not to take their quality education for granted.

    “Your education, training and discipline will help you in the long-run just as it helped me in my own life.”

    He explained that it was his belief that the younger generation can address Africa’s development challenges and catapult the continent into being a strong player in the international community that led him to commit $100 million to identify, train and fund 10,000 African businesses, over the next 10 years.

    Responding to a question by one of the students on how to balance being financially successful with family life, Elumelu maintained that it is impossible to create sustainable wealth without balance and stability in the home.

    Dame Aleruchi Cookey-Gam, a former Rivers Attorney-General commended the Tony Elumelu Foundation, being promoted by Mr. Elumelu, and its impact on the lives of our young people.

  • School rewards brilliant pupils

    A state Senior Grammar School, Ilupeju, Lagos, honoured its best pupils and teachers during its 2016 merit award and prize giving day which took place at the school premises last Wednesday.

    Special guest of honour, Tutor General /Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Education District VI, Mrs Amidat Anifowoshe who was represented by Mrs Ariyike Daramola explained that the aim of the award was to inspire attitudinal changes in the lazy ones.

    “The awardees of today, this is a clarion call to hard work. Please don’t rest on your oars because more is expected from you. Others who are yet to be given award please it is a challenge, tomorrow could be your turn”, said Daramola.

    Principal of the school, Mrs Esther Jesugbamila, said the event allows the school to recognise outstanding performance in the last academic session both  in academic and non-academic areas.

    “The award winners are a true representative of what we expect from everybody in the school. Hardworking, articulate students and staff are  a credit to the school and inspiration to us all. It is through such achievements that we are clearly able to see the skill, and commitments of the staff and students of the,” she said.

    Overall Best Student in the May/June 2015 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) award went to Elizabeth Arah; while Dada Olayinka won the Best Science student award for the same examination.  Chuwunonye Douglas won the Best Business Student award.

    For the workers, the Best principal award went to Mrs Esther Jesugbamila; Best Vice Principal was Mrs Joyce Iyashere; while Mrs Olamide Idowu, got the Most Punctual Vice Principal award.

    In her vote of thanks, Mrs Idowu, who was the chairman, award committee, thanked the school management for the awards and also promised to keep up the good work.

  • Stop child abuse, illiteracy, pupils urge

    Secondary school pupils in Lagos State have called for encouragement of girl-child education and an end to child abuse especially in the Northern part of the country.

    In a Children’s Day programme organised by The International Association of Lions Club (District 404B-2 Nigeria), in conjunction with Olawole Lanre Akinsanmi (OLA) Foundation in Lagos, the pupils lamented the ordeals of their colleagues in the North and their expectations of government and the society, to make life better for them.

    Speaking on Child Abuse, Caroline Isebor, SS1 pupil of WuraVile College Palm Grove, said it is the responsibility of parents to ensure their children go to school; adding that parents should not discipline their children  out of anger, but in love.

    She noted that parents should stop using children as source of income for the family: “It is wrong for parents to use their children as hawkers on the street. Parents should be the ones to cater for the family needs and not the children,” she said.

    Isebor added that government should provide qualitative and equal education for all children, enlighten parents on the implication of neglecting their children, which will result to child abuse as well as a reorientation of Nigerians to be geared towards respecting children’s right.

    Victory Nzefili, SS 2 pupil of Brilliant Child College, Akoka, said children drop out of school as a result of poverty, lack of funds, insecurity and cultural beliefs.

    “The country must also be secured to ensure that the environment is made comfortable and the children feel secured to go to school; government must do everything to reduce the poverty level in the country such that parents will be able to afford their children’s education, while educating people to accept girl-child education,” Nzefili said.

    Another speaker, SS2 pupil, of Latmos Omprehensive College Egbe, Jeremiah Ajayi, called for the enactment of laws and unity among citizens to bring an end to child abuse.

    Addressing the participants, Running Officer, OLA Foundation, Mrs Folayemi  Akinsanmi urged the children to take their studies seriously, look to the future with the view to making progress, be good citizens, avoid distractions, be focused and ensure they get education, no matter their upbringing.

  • Pupils show creativity with milk

    Pupils show creativity with milk

    Creativity of some primary and secondary school pupils came to play during the Peak Art of Milk cooking competition held last Wednesday to commemorate the World Milk Day.

    The Blue Roof, LTV8 Agidingbi,  teemed with over 1,000 pupils who witnessed the contest as well as other activities to mark the day.

    The 10 schools in the final were challenged to prepare breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert – all cooked with milk as one of the ingredients.

    The cooking was assessed by chef Niyi Williams, Dr Elochukwu Ukanta, a nutritionist, and popular actress, Sola Sobowale, who is the Peak Milk ambassador.

    The pupils presented meals like moimoi, wheat, and semo cooked with milk; milk soup; cakes, pancake, smoothies, and the like.

    At the end of the competition, Yaba College of Technology Secondary School came first; Ojota Senior Grammar School came second, and Wellspring College, Omole, came third.

    Chef Williams described the entries by the finalists and winners as creative.

    “The 10 schools got here by using milk creatively in very different ways. They came up with brilliant uses for Peak milk,” he said.

    Marketing Manager for Peak, Mrs Dolapo Otegbayi, said the winning recipes would be adopted by the firm, Friesland Campina, for all activations done for Peak milk.

    Apart from creativity, she said they came up with the competition as a way to enlighten children about good nutrition and the important role milk intake plays in their growth.

    “Children need to learn the importance of milk in their diet. Research has shown that people from Europe and other developed areas grow tall because they take more milk than those in Africa and other places. We hope the children will learn about good nutrition and also take the message to their families,” she said.

    Giving a talk on good nutrition, Dr Ukantu said children need to learn to take adequate diet so they don’t suffer from the deficiencies of mal-nutrition and over-nutrition.

    “Today, we have problems with both over nutrition and malnutrition. Parents who are rich overfeed their children and they become obese; while on the other side we have children who do not get adequate nutrition. The damage of malnutrition may be irreversible once stunting sets in,” she said.

    On her part, Sola Sobowale said she was glad to be part of the project, particularly as she hawked Peak milk as a child.

    She counseled the pupils to be focused on their education and pay attention to their nutrition.

    “You are the future of this country. You need nutrition and education to grow. It is about growing strong and smart because your future is in your hands,” she said.

    Other schools in the final of the competition were: Mind Builders School, Omole, Floral School, Stella Maris College, Ikorodu, and Cayley College, Agidingbi.

  • Pupils seek extreme hunger reduction

    Some secondary school pupils in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to insist on the effective introduction of farm practices in schools and homes for cultivation of crops to reduce extreme hunger among Nigerian children.

    The pupils, drawn from various schools, made this demand during a seminar by Development and Leadership Institute (DLI), a non-governmental organisation.

    The pupils also sought the improvement of educational system in Nigeria, and provision of potable water in communities.

    To reduce extreme hunger, the pupils recommended the re-orientation of agricultural practice as a way of life for food production as well as the provision of modern farm equipments to farmers and regular enlightenment programmes for them.

    In an interview, Miss Paula Ado-Kano of Port Harcourt International School said she was happy that the Federal Government has a policy that restricts importation of food items, which will make attention to shift to agriculture.

    She also called on the government to improve the learning environment and infrastructural facilities in schools and inadequately monitor the exam systems.

    Another student, Nandi Okorokwo, of Grace Land International School said government should monitor and discipline teachers who have no passion for teaching and discourage corruption in the education system.

    Programme Manager of DLI, Mrs Doris Aremu, said the programme is an annual event that gives the pupils an opportunity to discuss issues effecting Nigerian children.

    “The discussion was centered on the issues about the children; they want the government to hear what their problems are.   What we want as an organization is for the government to give the children a listening ear on the issues affecting them,” he said.