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Tag: pupils

  • High number of out-of-school pupils worrisome, says Osun commissioner

    High number of out-of-school pupils worrisome, says Osun commissioner

    Osun Commissioner for Education Mr. Eluwole Adedipo has described as worrisome to government the high number of out-of-school students in the state.

    Adedipo disclosed this on Tuesday in Osogbo during the defence of his ministry’s proposed budget for 2024 before the Joint Committee on Finance and Appropriation of the Osun House of Assembly.

    He said Osun State now has the highest number of out of school students in the South-West because many parents find it difficult to send their wards/children to school.

    He made the statement while highlighting the numerous challenges the education sector was facing in Osun.

    The commissioner blamed the policies of a previous administrations in the state for the woes that affected the education sector.

    According to him, mega schools constructed by a previous administration led to several schools being subsumed into one.

    He said this forced some students to drop out of school because of unavailable funds and logistics to get to locations of the new schools.

    The commissioner also identified serious shortage of qualified teachers as another major challenge in the sector, stressing the need to employ more teachers.

    Read Also: No N21bn provision for Chief of Staff residence in 2024 Budget – Gbajabiamila

    Mr. Saheed Fatunmise, Chairman, House Committee on Finance and Appropriation, Osun Assembly, who chaired the Joint Committees on budget and defence, advised the commissioner to conduct the teachers’ recruitment exercise based on merit.

    Fatunmise said he has confidence in the ability and capacity of the commissioner and therefore employed him to deploy his expertise to turn around the state education sector, so Osun can regain its lost glory.

    The MDAs that appeared for budget defence included: Ministry of Education, Osun Mass Education Agency, Osun Central Education District Office, Ila Orangun, Osun East Education District Office, Ile-Ife.

    Others were Osun West Education District Office, Ikire; Osun State Senior Secondary Education Board, Osun State Library Board, Osun State Examinations Board, Board for Technical and Vocational Education, and Osun State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).

    Also at the budget presentation and defence were the state Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM), Ministry of Innovation, Science, Technology and Digital Economy

  • Bandits collected N250m ransom before releasing 121 Baptist pupils, says CAN

    Bandits collected N250m ransom before releasing 121 Baptist pupils, says CAN

    • Kaduna governor receives boy held for two years

    Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani has received a kidnapped schoolboy, Treasure Ayuba, who escaped from bandits’ den after two years in captivity.

    Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Kaduna State chapter, disclosed that the bandits took N250million ransom to free 120 other pupils of Bethel Baptist High School, Kaduna, but refused to release Treasure.

    The pupils were kidnapped in July 2021.

    Following the payment of ransom, 120 students were released in batches, but Treasure was not released. 

    Read Also: 21b ready for 3rd Mainland bridge rehabilitation, says Umahi

    Two years, four months later he escaped from his captors and found his way home about a week ago.

    Speaking when the CAN, Kaduna State chapter Chairman, Rev. John Hayab, led the parents and family of Treasure on a courtesy visit to Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, Governor Sani said his administration had put machinery in place to ensure the safety of pupils and students in schools across the state.

    He said the government would support Treasure by giving him psychosocial treatment to address the trauma he must have gone through while in captivity for over two years.

  • Lagos, organisation hold workshop for pupils

    Lagos, organisation hold workshop for pupils

    The Lagos State Ministry of Education, the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources in conjunction with Team Illuminate, an organisation that enables youths in society work  for sustainability and create awareness on environmental consciousness, has held a Green Students’ Workshop with eight secondary schools under Education  District V of the state.

    The workshop, which held at Awori Ajeromi Senior Grammar School, Old Ojo Road, Amuwo Odofin, had members of Environmental Bee Club (EBC) drawn from eight secondary schools participating.

    The schools are: Festac Senior Grammar School; Festac Girls Senior Secondary School; Amuwo Odofin Community Senior Secondary School; Awori Ajeromi Senior Grammar School; Kuje Senior Secondary School;  Amuwo Senior Grammar School; Amuwo Odofin Senior High School and Agboju Senior Secondary School.

     Activities of the day included three group sessions, namely: Energy Conservation with Miss Toluwalase Abiona (Founder, Zero Plastic Straw Community), Green Spaces & Biodiversity with Miss Sonia Ugwunna (Project Lead, Sustyvibes) and Water Conservation with Miss Favour Inegbedion (Online Eco-activist); featuring brain storming sessions where students put together ideas on how to mitigate global issues, starting from their schools through the Environment Bee Club.

    According to the founder, Team Illuminate, 19-year-old Saviour Iwezue, the workshop is to  enable youths start take action in the school space, towards environmental sustainability.

    Read Also: Lagos secures $1.35b deals for 4th Mainland Bridge, Blue Rail

    Speaking on how the Green Students’ Workshop project was  birthed, Iwezue said: “Originally it was my initiative. I had reached out to the government for a partnership; first to the Ministry of Education and they gave me access to 20 schools, to hold training with them, teach them craft – how to craft waste to usable materials. When I got to the district (District V) I was told the commissioner would have to approve such club, which would have taken longer time. I was, however, told that the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources had a club that was running in schools, which I could collaborate with, monitor and bring in my own innovations. That was how this partnership came up.”

    Teachers from each of the schools also had an opportunity to share their experiences organising Environmental Bees Clubs in their respective schools; ideas were shared and they were briefed on methods towards improving their club activities.

    They were taken through a strategic session on Waste Management for a Sustainable Schools with Miss Mosimileoluwa Alabi, founder, RecyclubNg.

        Students were engaged in an upcycling session, where they transformed a plastic paint bucket into a beautiful Ottoman with Miss Rachel Michael (a craftsperson) and plastic tablespoons to Wall decoration with Miss Seun Oladejo (CEO, House of Waste).

        At the end of the day’s activities, each student received a certificate. They were also offered mentorship opportunities through Team Illuminate’s Green Student Fellowship.

        The teachers also  got certificates of appreciation.

        A representative of Director, Co-curricular Science and Technology Department, Mrs Tunde Sevezul, who attended the workshop, said the Lagos State government decided to partner with the 19-year-old because of her ideas which are compliant with the states mega city status and its quest to grow a population of youths who will be compliant with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

  • Foundation donates to Lagos pupils

    Foundation donates to Lagos pupils

    A non-governmental Organisation (NGO), Ezeigwe Goodwill Foundation, has donated uniforms to 50 pupils of Low Cost Estate Nursery and Primary School, Jakande Estate, Isolo Ejigbo Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Lagos.

     The group’s Lead Volunteer, Babajide Faturoti, said the objective of the founder of the NGO, Pascal Ezeigwe, is to help the less-privileged, adding that their focus is on education, health, feeding, advocacy, shelter, shelter and poverty alleviation.

    He advised the pupils to face their studies and also take care of the uniforms.

    The Head of Section (HoS), State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Oshodi, Mrs. Risikat Aderemi, urged the beneficiaries to come to school regularly and that the government was concerned about their welfare, a reason it is providing the necessary amenities for their comfort.

    Read Also: Pupils educated on climate change

     The school’s Head teacher, Mrs. Yemisi Ismot Amusa, thanked the NGO for the gesture, saying he was especially happy because it was the first time the school was getting a gift during her short tenure.

    However, she asked the group to donate more uniforms to the school so that more pupils could get the largesse.

    A Primary Three pupil, Elijah Olufem, also thanked the NGO for their donation.

  • Okebukola, school owner, others advise outgoing pupils on good behaviour

    Okebukola, school owner, others advise outgoing pupils on good behaviour

    • Albesta Academy graduates 25 at valedictory

    Former National Universities Commission (NUC) Secretary Emeritus Peter Okebukola has advised 25 outgoing pupils of Albesta Academy, Lekki, Lagos to be good ambassadors of the school in their future careers.

      Speaking at the school’s 15th valedictory last weekend, Okebukola, who is the Grand Patron, of the institution, said life is in cycles and that the pupils had just ended one and were moving to the next where they would hold their own.

    He said in tertiary institutions, they would be expected to be on their own, and except they are guided by God, parents or guardians and morals, some of them might miss their ways.

    He urged parents to monitor their children, adding that some assume that they are adults and should be allowed to stand their feet. He warned against such attitude, saying: “Keep praying and monitoring them.”

    He parted with this song, which he urged the pupils to imbibe: “Take the name of Jesus with you.”

    He announced that his prophecy many years ago that the academy would be a university would soon be a reality.

    The Chairperson, Albesta Academy, Mrs. Esther Abe, said there was the need to thank God for His assistance to the school in the outgoing year.

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    In the West African School Certificate Examination (WASC), she announced, the institution scored 100 per cent with pupils recording mainly As and Bs. Also, it was able to weather the economic storm, after the cost of fuel rose astronomically, thereby making it difficult for their school buses and generators to be powered.

    He thanked the management and staff of the school for their commitment to excellence, their selling point.

    The school Principal, Tom Imhambor, who described the graduands as “God’s great wonders, advised them to be bold and be ambassadors”.

    “Your excellence will continue to thrive. Remember that your journey has not ended,” he said.

    He urged parents to bring their children to the school, saying that their ”approach is not only to educate and nurture pupils, but to also cultivate leaders and thinkers”.

     The guest speaker, Prof. Adewale Olusegun Obadina, a food safety expert, who spoke on “Advice on post-secondary survival”, gave the pupils 15 tips to survive.

    They included breaking up with their phones, being organised, reviewing, being anxious, getting their financials right, loving their environment and staying focused in school.

    The valedictorian, Bode Ayeni Aderiye, who won over eight awards, drawing applause each time he was called to pick an award, said their stay in the school was memorable. He averred: “Fellow graduates, we made it.” He, however, advised his colleagues thus: “As we part ways, I pray we pass knowledge” and that they should navigate life’s problems well.

    At the event were the District Superintendent, Apostolic Faith Church, West and Central Africa, Rev. Isaac Adigun; his wife Stella; Chairman, Board of Trustees, Crawford University, Ambassador James Olaleye; Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) Chairman, Albesta Academy, Samuel Omoruyi; and a representative of the Abe family, Mr. Kayode Abe.

  • Parents, pupils our pillars, says proprietor

    THE Proprietor, Achievax Base Schools, Ayodeji Omotola, has said the school has been sustained over the years through the support it received from parents and pupils.

    He spoke at the joint schools’ end of year party/graduation held at its premises in Alakuko, Lagos.

    The proprietor, whose speech was read by the school’s Principal, said the school, established in 2008 as Achiever’s Settlement Schools, had grown over the years like an iroko tree beyond his expectation.

    He thanked God for the giant strides made by the schools, the management’s doggedness and its teachers’ tenacity of purpose.

    Omotola said: ”The academic feat so attained is as a result of our seasoned, astute, erudite, hardworking and ebullient teachers with listening ears.”

    He thanked them for being good ambassadors of the schools, which has nursery, primary, and secondary arms, and indirectly acting as their advertisers.

    The founder announced that work was in progress at the school’s permanent site and that soon they would move there.

    On what makes the schools unique, he attributed it to its low fees, tidy environment, and attention to academically challenged pupils, facilities, and teaching standard.

    ”Our motto: ‘Citadel of academic excellence’ speaks volume about the school because our academic, incomparable superb moral quality and upbringing of students, our superlatively social inclination has demarcated us from others.”

    No fewer than 100 pupils graduated at the event, which featured cultural dances, match past, and spelling bees, among others. Prizes were awarded to outstanding pupils.

  • ‘How we make Mathematics interesting to pupils’

    Mathematics is one of the science subjects that many learners fear. However by making it fun and rewarding, Marketing Manager, Promasidor Nigeria Ltd, Abiodun Ayodeji said Cowbellpedia National Competition was increasing Maths disciples in Nigeria KOFOWOROLA BELO-OSAGIE reports.

    Marketing Manager, Promasidor Nigeria Ltd, Mr Abiodun Ayodeji has underscored the important role investments in science and innovation plays in national development.

    In an interview with The Nation, Ayodeji said investment in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) would promote innovation and stimulate interest in the sciences like Promasidor’s investment in Cowbellpedia has generated interest in Mathematics for the last 21 years.

    “No nation can truly develop without a conscious investment and effort in Science and Innovation, and Mathematics is the bedrock of these two. Mathematics promotes reasoning as it helps the mind to organise complicated situations or problems into clear, simple, and logical steps.

    “Experts also believe that since the foundation of science and technology, which is the basic requirement for the development of nations is Mathematics, the subject therefore plays a vital role not only in human development but also in nation building.

    “Also, you will agree with me that a lot of students have a phobia for this subject area and with the Cowbellpedia platform, we have been able to stimulate the interests of many students in Mathematics,” he said.

    By making mathematics fun, and rewarding winners with mouthwatering prizes, Ayodeji said the firm had been able to sustain interest in Mathematics.

    “The prize money some five or six years ago used to be N250,000 for the winners; now it is N2 million but prize money is not the overall thing, it’s about the impact that people are seeing with the students.

    “We even increased significantly the teachers’ prize money and along the way, we started rewarding from the first stage,” he said.

    Ayodeji said the interest the Cowbellpedia TV Quiz show had generated was such that registration for this year’s edition increased substantially.

    Student enrolment has been increasing on a yearly basis and in 2019, we have the highest in the history of the competition at over 56,000 students,” he said.

    Last year, to further improve the competition, Ayodeji said Promasidor invited foreign experts to teach participants and their teachers difficult areas of Mathematics.

    “Last year, in celebrating the 20th relationship between Cowbell Our Milk and Mathematics, we added some new dimensions to the Cowbellpedia initiative. We had the Cowbellpedia Academy in partnership with some foreign universities and Professors aimed at driving support and interest in Mathematics by exposing selected students and teachers across the country to various teaching and learning techniques in achieving, sustaining and managing academic feats especially in Mathematics,” he said.

    Apart from the quiz show, Ayodeji said Promasidor has some other digital products that pupils can use to learn mathematics.

    “Cowbellpedia has three major legs – Cowbellpedia Secondary Schools TV Quiz Show, Cowbellpedia Radio Maths Class which is a five minute class on radio; and Cowbellpedia Mobile App that can be downloaded on Google Play store on android devices and App Store on Apple devices,” he said.

    With many participating schools taking the competition seriously, Ayodeji said their performance in Cowbellpedia had become a selling point to attract parents and pupils to the school.  He added that teachers from high performing schools are also poached by others who wish to improve in the competition.

    He said: “Schools are using Cowbellpedia as an enrollment marketing tool. A school in Ota normally has a Cowbellpedia club and they recruit the best in JSS1. And they do exam almost on a daily basis. If you don’t measure up, you will go out and some others will come in. It is a bragging rights for the students too and members of club. They have extra classes just to be good and that is why you see they do very well when they come for the quiz. Some schools are already approaching their teachers that how can they do it, how can we do some of those things.”

    Cowbellpedia has produced many winners who Ayodeji said have done really well and even gained foreign scholarships.

    “In terms of high point, an example is Master Ayodeji Akinkuowo, the student that won in the senior category of maiden edition of the Cowbellpedia Secondary Schools Mathematics TV Quiz Show. He got a government scholarship to Russia to study aeronautic engineering. This was possible, because he made his life’s dream of becoming an aeronautic engineer known during the competition.

    “Another high point is Munachi Ernest-Eze who won the Junior Secondary School category in 2015. Two years later he won the Senior Secondary School category. It shows consistency.

    “The 2018 edition produced another hero in Faith Odunsi, a student of The Ambassador College, Ota Ogun State, who set a competition record in speed and accuracy by answering 19 questions in the “60 Seconds of Fame” segment to advance to the semi-finals in the junior category.

    “Faith’s feat shattered the record of 17 questions in that segment set in 2017 by Emmanuel Mebude, a student of Ogunlade Memorial Secondary School, Surulere, Lagos,” he said.

  • Pupils take on entrepreneural dreams

    Starting a successful business is one of the hardest things for most Nigerians. To make it easy for new entrants, non-governmental organisations have taken the campaign to secondary schools where pupils are exposed to basic training on how to start and run a business venture, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    More than half of Nigerian citizens under 25 years face unique challenges in starting their businesses. But the country has an opportunity to embrace and meet youths’ expectations by providing tools, information and support. These will not only encourage and motivate millennials to become young entrepreneurs, but make them ethical change-makers in their communities.

    A  forum organised by Junior Achievement Nigeria (JAN) and Aspire Coronation Trust (ACT) Foundation on: My Company, My Region is expected to play an important role in enhancing and encouraging young  entrepreneurs to thrive. It is an initiative aimed at inspiring entrepreneurship spirit among youths and solve the unemployment problem in the country. The forum held in Lagos.

    JAN’s My Company, My Region is geared towards encouraging junior secondary pupils to learn and apply entrepreneurial thinking as they explore higher education and future career choices. Developed as a response to the alarming dropout rate of pupils between junior secondary and senior secondary schools, it aims to provide young people with the skills, values and opportunities required for wealth generation and gainful employment.

    A junior pupil of  Imaad Secondary School, Lekki, Lagos State, Master Martins Kazeem, held his  audience spell-bound when he presented his  dream of designing solar powered food processing machine. No one could believe that was coming from a pupil, who was still in the junior secondary school. People saw a young man already thinking about how to solve farmers’ problems and needs every support to make a difference in the society. His presentation spoke hope  into hearts and inspired others to dream. He created an image of a young man on the path to greatness. He received praises from the audience.

    Speaking after Kazeem and other pupils had made their presentations, JAN Executive Director, Simi Nwogugu, said the organisation’s mission is to change pupils’ perception about life and entrepreneurship.

    She observed that Kazeem had a pretty clear idea of what he wanted to do and that the organisation was ready to support people like him to work towards achieving their dreams on graduation.

    She added that the initiative is targeted at Nigerian school children in JSS2 and JSS3, noting that the programme aimed at aiding pupils to explore entrepreneurial opportunities in their regions by educating them on how to convert opportunities to successful businesses.

    According to her, most people need some preparation before they’re ready for the workforce, and planning should begin long before the time to start a career.

    Nwogugu expressed delight in the level of support offered by ACT Foundation for creating an enabling environment for entrepreneurial growth.

    ACT Foundation Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Osayi Allie, restated the grant maker’s commitment to partnering the right organisations to accelerate entrepreneurial development. “This is our second successful partnership with JAN. With them, we look forward to developing world-class entrepreneurs, who can create innovative businesses that solve problems and generate wealth within their communities. ACT Foundation remains dedicated to fostering work readiness and financial literacy among Nigerian youth, skills that are desperately needed if we want them to have a sustainable future,” Ms. Alile continued.

    Represented by ACT Foundation Head of Programmes, Ndifreke Okwuegbunam, Ms. Allie, said the programme provides pupils an opportunity to learn how to turn an idea into a business. The programme introduced pupils to the process of design thinking as a problem- solving process and provided an authentic entrepreneurial experience for pupils with  each session building towards a product-pitch competition.

    JAN Programme Manager, Rita Odion said the pupils were exposed to  basic business management issues such as planning for a venture, assessing  market, creating business plans.

    She said JAN envisioned an educational system with an entrepreneurial and innovative approach where aspiring pupil entrepreneurs will be taught skills that can help them tackle today’s critical socio-economic issues.

    She said the programme  will lead the aspiring pupils to develop a highly effective leadership skill set with the confidence and practical experience to be successful in their educational career.

    She said 2,000 pupils have been reached in Lagos and Ogun states.

  • ‘Ensure pupils are taught in safe environment’

    The National President of  Private Education Development Association of Nigeria (PEDAN), Mr. Festus Awodoyin, has urged school proprietors to ensure that pupils are taught in a safe environment.

    Awodoyin, who spoke to The Nation in Ajegunle, Lagos, yesterday on the building collapse which occurred last week at Ita Faji, Lagos Island, said it was the responsibility of proprietors to make sure that pupils received lessons in a conducive environment.

    He said: “We, proprietors, should not only be concerned about making money. The welfare and safety of our pupils should be of concern to us. We should make sure that the buildings of our schools are secure.”

    The PEDAN National President said although the proprietor of the affected school, Ohen Private Nursery and Primary School, Lagos Island, was not a member of their association, “plans are on to make our members accessible to loans through cooperative societies to enable them buy land and build  structures that will be of high quality, thus preventing building collapse.”

    He implored the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Ministry of Education and other stakeholders to ensure that schools are located in a safe environment.

    Dr. Comfort Ojikutu-Esebamen, a member of PEDAN’s Board of Trustees (BoT), sympathized with the families of those who lost their loved ones.

    She said: “As a mother, I know the trauma they are passing through. I pray that the Almighty God will give them the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.

    “The government should monitor private schools and ensure that they are located in secure places to prevent calamity like the one which occurred on March 13 on Lagos Island.”

    Mrs Ojikutu-Esebamen said PEDAN’s unified examination, which had been well prepared for, would hold today in all the education districts in Lagos State.

    PEDAN’s BoT Chairman, Rev. Usen Effiong Usen, condemned poorly built schools, saying proprietors should make sure their pupils are accommodated in a good environment.

    Dr. Usen, who commiserated with those who lost relations in the Lagos Island building collapse, hailed Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and Governor-elect Babajide Sanwo-Olu for showing concern to the survivors and their families.

  • Lawmaker lifts widows, pupils, others

    Some widows and less privileged women in Iba Local Council Development Area of Lagos have been empowered by a lawmaker in the council.

    Ibrahim Bakare, the Leader of the council’s Legislative, gave them materials and cash to boost their businesses yesterday.

    The empowerment event was held at Okokomaiko Town Hall.

    Bakare also donated exercise books to pupils of FHA Primary School and cash to some members of the Lagos State Neighbourhood Security Watch (LNSC).

    According to him, the gesture was to give back to society and create more wealthy people in the council.

    “Part of my campaign promises is to empower my constituent. It is also to replicate what the Federal Government is doing in terms of Tradermoni and N5,000 stipends given to the less privilege.

    “The money I gave out to the beneficiaries, who are not earning income to start their businesses. They can actually start something to improve their lives,” he said.

     

    He urged the youth to shun violence and join hands with government to build a virile society.

    “The elections are close by. Our youths should not allow themselves to be used as touts during the period. They have their lives and should make it worthwhile. If I can get to this position, they too can make it,” he said.