The Nation Newspaper

Tag: pupils

  • ‘Chess improves pupils’ performance’

    Chairman, Lilly White Nursery and Primary School, Ilupeju, Lagos, Mr Abayomi Osibanjo, has said  cognitive performance of the child can be enhanced with chess game.

    Osinbajo likened chess to a symbol of life in which  decisions, which might make or mar the players, have to be taken. Therefore, the game improves the ability of the  brain to judiciously articulate and effect  good decision making.

    Osibanjo, who started playing chess 41 years ago, explained that as a early as four years, it is necessary for a child to get familiarised with the game; adding that at five or six, they can then start learning the moves of the game as their cognitive thinking will be able to retain what is learnt.

    Osibanjo, who spoke at the Interschool Chess Tournament held in his school in Ilupeju, Lagos, said: “Chess is more than what it seems on the board.

    “It improves your intelligence quotient. It has shown that students who are exposed to chess at an early stage in life gain the power of concentration. It has also shown that students who play chess improve  thier knowledge of mathematics.

    Students run away from mathematics but if you concentrate, and you are focused, you will conquer.

    “When you play chess, you are exposed to decision making. The chess board, which you are playing  is just a theoretical interactive simulation. That is, you simulate real life on the chess board in the sense that you will find on the board, the decision you are going to make in real life. Should you want to make a move, you are going to use the best move for the circumstances you are faced with which will either affect you positively or negatively. Chess is life.”

  • Commissioner blames parents, teachers for pupils’ failure

    There is erosion of the once- noble roles played by parents and teachers in the lives of children and, therefore, militating against their quest for values, integrity and greatness, the Lagos State Commissioner of Establishments, Training and Pensions, Dr. Akintola Benson, has said.

    He spoke during the yearly leadership lecture of Dansol High School, Lagos. It had as theme: “Becoming an uncompromising leader of positive impact of values and integrity.”

    According to him, one of the  challenges for parents and teachers is to properly guide the children  before their minds were tainted.

    Akintola said: “This year’s theme bears a very relevant message for the society.

    “We seem to be bereft of leaders to whom our youths can look up to.

    “The best of our leaders is tainted with deeds and failings that do not encourage our youths to appreciate the place of values and integrity in an individual’s character and in the society as a whole. I urge our youths to choose the path of integrity as they pursue their life’s journey.”

    He listed seven lessons that would assist children and youths as they embark on the road to becoming world changers.

    He urged them not to forget that life is a test, noting that they should not underestimate the value of experience and wise counsel.

    “Indeed, if our youths will resolve to inculcate the noble values of integrity and patiently consistent hard work, they will become impactful leaders of your generation,” Akintola added.

     

  • We shall rescue abducted pupils, Ambode vows

    Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has assured parents and  Lagosians of his administration’s committment to security of every child in the state.

    Ambode spoke last week at the grand finale of the Lagos State Schools Governor’s Quiz Competition.

    He spoke against the backdrop of a 14-day ultimatum issued during a protest by parents of the six abducted pupils of Lagos State Model College, Igbonla, at the Government House. The pupils were abducted by gunmen at the school premises three weeks ago.

    The gunmen, who also took the principals of both junior and senior secondary schools with the pupils, have contacted the victims’ parents, demanding N1 billion ransom which has been scaled down to N100 million. However, the parents are pleading that the ransom is beyond their reach.

    The governor, while identifying with the victims’ parents, assured that the pupils would be brought back unscathed. “Let me assure you that the government is working round the clock to ensure the release of the abducted students of Model College, Igbonla. We empathise with the students and parents and we will not relent in our efforts until the students come back unhurt to continue their education. We will not allow any group of people to distract us from our goal of educating all Lagos children and equipping them for the future,”Ambode said.

    At the ninth edition of the event, which held at the Adeyemi Bero auditorium, Alausa, Lagos State Model College, Kankon, beat Alimosho Senior Grammar School and Jubilee Model Senior Grammar School to the second and third positions respectively.

    The junior secondary school (JSS) and primary schools category saw Eko Junior College and Darocha Primary Schools emerging first and second runners up respectively.

    Ambode, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Mr. Adesina Odeyemi, congratulated the winners.

    He recalled that the competition at the inception was designed to develop pupils’ mind by creating healthy rivalry among children in public schools in the state.

    “This quiz competition has over the years produced many very brilliant students, who have gone ahead to study various courses in tertiary institutions. It has broadened the horizon of participants from the preliminary levels to the finals, including the spectators and many other people who learnt from the competition,”he said.

    Education sector in the state, according to him, received N205.8billion in 2016 and 2017 budgets in spite of the stiff competition for resource allocation.

    “What the government has invested in the education sector of the state in the last two years is more than the annual budget of about 23 states of the federation. In fact, it is more than the 2017 budget of some four states put together,” Ambode said.

    To encourage students break new grounds, he said, Lagos has unveiled a digital library to ensure access to education and the continued development of the children in the state, advising children to devote more time to their studies.

    Speaking earlier, Deputy Governor, Dr. Idiat Oluranti Adebule, who was represented by the Director, Co-curricular, Mrs. Babs Akinyeye, observed that the quality of the competition has continued to grow as it progressed, praising participants’ exemplary brilliance.

    “The standard of questions that were posted to the pupils/students and the ease with which they answered them was a testimony to the quality of education that we provide in the state,” she said.

  • School broadens pupils’ employment horizons

    Raising pupils’ career, aspirations and broadening their horizon by deploying a wide range of imaginative approaches, such as opportunities, work experience and mentoring, among others, are some of the best ways to assist them in career choice.

    This was disclosed by the Propriotor of De-Sen Group of School Mrs Foluke Adeyeye, during the schoool’s Career Day

    According to Adeyeye, the choice of career by individuals at such tender age could either make or mar their future, hence the need to channel them in the right direction.

    She noted that there are various ways to explore professions, adding that  parents, teachers and guardians are key components in helping children direct their path.

    She said: “Mentorship is not someone telling you what to do, rather it is someone  helping you find out where you really want to be, and exploring different ways to get you there. We are all ready to give you the support you need to do things yourself, rather than trying to do things for you,” she said

    The occasion was an opportunity for the pupils to network as they mingled with experts, who have excelled in various disciplines such as journalism, engineering, teaching, finance, farming, and catering, among others.

    According to Adeyeye, one of the major mistakes to avoid when choosing a career is listening to people, who want to dictate what career path to follow or not to follow. Rather, one should see a career as passion in order to make it a lifelong exercise, she advised.

    Other pitfalls to avoid, according to Mr Emeka Francis, who spoke to the pupils on Engineering as a profession, is developing passion and determination to break even. “Bringing home a pay check is important, but the size of it does not actually predict job satisfaction,”he said.

     

     

     

     

  • Vision 2020 empowers pupils

    Pupils of Vision 2020 Project Club exhibited creativity in science and technology at the 24th edition of career counselling, industry awareness and youth empowerment workshop.

    Vision 2020 is a youth empowerment and restoration initiative of Lonadek Consulting, a local content consultancy firm focused on empowering students in Senior Secondary Schools and undergraduates in tertiary institutions.

    An SS2 student of Gbaja Boys Senior High School Surulere, Clement Attach,  who represented his school, displayed a project on production of biogas from animal waste (cow dung).  He explained that the animal waste does not only serve as manure, but can also generate gas used for cooking.  He said to generate the gas, the waste is mixed with water and put into a gallon and connected to a substance (potassium hydroxide) and scrubber which after three days will start producing gas and at the 21st day, the maximum production of the gas got and is due for use.

    Attah noted that the locally made gas is cheaper, affordable and beneficial to rural dwellers, adding that if well utilised, it could be exported as a source of revenue for the country.

    Two pupils from Lagos State Senior Model College, Badore, David Akachukwu  and Bose Iroomo, displayed  a solar oven used for the preservation of food items. Also Lamidi Fifame of Kankan Senior Secondary  School, Badagry, showcased  the procedures in preserving Amala, a local delicacy and how it can be reprocessed. Other pupils  also displayed various scientific projects.

    The Vision2020 project consultant, Mrs Ibilola Amao, said the 15 -year-old project, which will end in 2020, is geared towards “helping the Nigerian students identify their potentials, talents and creativity with regards to Science,  Technology Engineering and Mathematics.

    “Nigeria is blessed with human resources and we need to harness it. We need to begin to look at how we can create values, harness our natural and mineral resources so that we can have more people generating wealth and more jobs created. We need to look at areas like agriculture, innovation, creativity, energy and infrastructure.  These are core areas we are challenged as a nation,” she added.

    She added that since its inception, about 80,000 pupils have benefited from the workshop which hopes to empower over 100,000 youths  before 2020.  She noted that the pupils have track records of excellence as some have made laudable imprints in the country.

    She called on the Federal Government to invest in human resources, empowerment of teachers, promotion of industry and and a visitation of abandon projects that are key to national development and socio-economic transformation.

  • IGP: Eight held over pupils’ kidnap

    IGP: Eight held over pupils’ kidnap

    •’Rise in criminals’ use of tinted glass, siren’

    Eight persons have been arrested over the kidnap of six pupils of Lagos State Model College in Igbonla, Epe, 15 days ago, Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Ibrahim Idris said yesterday.

    The suspects, he said in Abuja, were connected to those who kidnapped the children.

    The police, he said, would get the kidnappers soon.

    Idris said the children’s safety was paramount in the efforts to rescue them.

    “The IGP said: when conducting operations such as this, the safety of the children is very important and we are concentrating all our efforts on protecting the lives of those children. The creeks surrounding Epe and Ikorodu are always connected with kidnapping. We are going to have a permanent solution to the security in those areas but we and the state government have to advise school owners on where to site schools. Why are they building schools in areas that are vulnerable to activities like kidnapping. We have to take the security of the children serious and consider the environment where schools are built because location matters.

    “You don’t site a school where somebody can park a boat, go off the boat and pick targets and zoom off. We are looking into that and we have organisations supporting us in the construction of gunboats and in a month or two, some of the gunboats will be used to patrol the creeks and more marine officers will be trained and the creeks will be more safe because they will be patrolled using the gunboats.”

    He spoke of an increase in the abuse of tinted glass and spy number plates, saying criminals now use them to perpetrate crimes. “Some private individuals are using spy police and on a mere glance, you will think they are police officers. We want to set up task forces all over the country to check the abuse of spy plate and abuse of siren.

    People use siren and tinted glasses to commit crimes. We are going to set up task forces that would be deployed to various parts of the country to check the excesses of these individuals,” Idris said.

  • 5,000 pupils mark World Milk Day

    No fewer than 5, 000 pupils from 200 schools joined Friesland- Campina WAMCO to celebrate World Milk Day at the grand finale of the company’s “Cook-with-Peak-Milk Pecadomo Nutrition Contest” held at the Lagos Television Blue Roof arena, Ikeja.

    The United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in 2001 set aside June 1 yearly as World Milk Day to reflect on all the goodness that milk represents: its natural origin, nutritional value, the numerous delicious dairy products enjoyed by so many people all over the world and the economic importance of milk for rural areas and the food chain as a whole.

    Since 2011, FrieslandCampina WAMCO has been leading Nigerians to celebrate the World Milk Day through exciting campaigns like ‘Drink Milk Everyday’ and ‘Do More with Milk’ to drive milk consumption and versatility in usage among consumers. This year, the contest promoted the health benefits of drinking milk as well as cooking healthy, nutritious meals with milk.

    Whitefield School, Mazamaza, Lagos, emerged as the school with the best recipe, winning the first prize of N500, 000. Resource teachers of the winning schools were rewarded during the celebration.

    Celebrity chef Victor Akpojovwo and Nollywood actress Toyin Aimakhu cheered the junior chefs.

    According to the Marketing Manager, Mrs. Maureen Ifada, the World Milk Day is that time of the year when the goodness of milk is celebrated all over the world.

    She noted that the event is a platform to enlighten the younger generation on the health benefits of milk, grow a new culture of cooking with milk in Nigerian homes, demonstrate and drive the brand’s proposition of stronger bodies and sharper minds.

    “School children are invaluable to Peak Milk brand. To build a strong nutritional base for the country and manage issues of malnutrition, we have to highlight the importance of proper nutrition to the younger generation, so that they can reach for their peak.

    “That explains our relentless initiatives to deepen our connection with this group, grow with them, and excite them to explore their potentials,” Ifada said.

    FrieslandCampina WAMCO employees also celebrated the day with a fitness challenge to help underscore the message that healthy eating will cure and prevent diseases.

  • Vision 2020 empowers pupils

    Students of Vision 2020 Project Club exhibited creativity in science and technology at the 24th edition of career counselling, industry awareness and youth empowerment workshop of Vision2020.

    Vision 2020 is a youth empowerment and restoration initiative of Lonadek Consulting, a local content consultancy firm focused on empowering students in Senior Secondary Schools and undergraduates in tertiary institutions.

    Clement Attach, a SS2 student of Gbaja Boys Senior High School Surulere who represented his school, displayed a project on production of biogas from animal excreta (cow dung).  He explained that the animal waste does not only serve as manure but can also generate gas used for cooking.  He said to generate the gas, the waste is mixed with water and put into a gallon and connected to a substance (potassium hydroxide) and scrubber which after three days will start producing gas and at the 21st day, the maximum production of the gas gotten is due for use.

    Attach noted that this locally made gas is cheaper and affordable and most beneficial for rural dwellers, adding that if well utilised, could be exported as a source of revenue for the country.

    Two students from Lagos State Senior Model College, Badore, David Akachukwu  and Bose Iroomo displayed  a solar oven used for the preservation of food items. Also Lamidi Fifame of Kankan Senior Secondary  School, Badagry, showcased  the procedures in preserving amala, a local delicacy and how it can be reprocessed. Other pupils  also displayed various scientific projects.

    The project consultant of Vision2020, Mrs Ibilola Amao, said the 15 -year project which started in 2006 and will end in 2020, is geared towards “helping the Nigerian students to identify their potential, talent and creativity with regards to Science,  Technology Engineering and Mathematics.

    “Nigeria is blessed with human resources and we need to harness it. We need to begin to look at how we can create values, harness our natural and mineral resources so that we can have more people generating wealth and more jobs are created. We need to look at areas like agriculture, innovation, creativity, energy and infrastructure.  These are core areas we are challenged as a nation,” she added.

    She added that since its inception, about 80,000 pupils have benefited from the workshop which hopes to empower over 100,000 youths  before 2020.  She noted that the pupils have track records of excellence as some have made laudable imprints in the country.

    She called on the Federal Government to  invest in human resources, empowerment of teachers, promotion of industry and and a visitation of abandon projects that are key to national development and socioeconomic transformation.

     

  • Educationist admonishes pupils on skills

    Tutor-General and Permamnent Secretary Education District III Ikoyi Lagos Mrs Margaret Titilayo Sholarin, has urged parents to support their wards in any skill they express interest.

    According to Sholarin, children can accomplish this by not focusing only on academic work but identifying their vocational strength.

    Sholarin gave the charge during a three-day programme organised by the district as part of its contribution to celebrate Lagos State at 50 at the Banquet Hall, of the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos.

    Sholarin, who spoke on the theme: Enhance the heritage;Advance the future, charged  participants comprising  four local government areas under the district, to have positive mindset towards vocational skills and push against any limit that might hinder their progress through academic works alone. She noted that skills and not high school certificates alone could make youths maximise their future opportunities.

    Students need to acquire the right vocational skills and being in the right place at the right time, she added.

    According to her, opportunities abound in vocational skills. “You need to grab them through your involvement in skills, if you must succeed in life,” Sholarin admonished.

    Highlights of the programme include cultural display, music and dance competition, exhibition of vocational skills, among others by participants’ schools.

    Prizes were also given to the best schools in vocational skills, cultural display as well as music and dance competition

     

  • Kidnappers move Lagos pupils to Niger Delta creek

    Kidnappers move Lagos pupils to Niger Delta creek

    •Parent left waiting with ‘N2m ransom at Odogunyan’

    There were fears yesterday that the six abducted Lagos State Model College pupils might have again been moved by their kidnappers.

    It was the second time, sources told The Nation that the pupils would be relocated since they were kidnapped in May 25.

    It was learnt that they might have been moved to a creek in Niger Delta, following their parents alleged failure to pay the N2million ransom demanded on each child.

    But the kidnappers were said to have failed to show up yesterday to collect a N2million ransom allegedly taken to a designated spot in Odogunyan, Ikorodu.

    It was gathered that the kidnappers had since Friday asked the parent to take the money to different spots, but each time he went, no one came to collect it.

    They were also said to have told the parent to wear the same dress he wore the first time they asked him to bring the money, so that their emissary could identify him.

    Despite complying with instructions, the parent, it was gathered, was kept waiting for over four hours, after which he was asked to return home, once again.

    The Nation gathered that the kidnappers initially accused the parent of not keeping the appointment but when he described some of the things he saw at the locations, they told him to go home that they would get back to him.

    It was learnt that the parent demanded to speak to his child but he was not obliged.

    The pupils were first moved last weekend, two days after their abduction.

    But, three members of the gang who went to survey the waterways before the relocation were arrested in Benin, the Edo State capital, by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Intelligence Response Team (IRT) operatives last Tuesday.

    Policemen comprising those from the Lagos State Command, Marine Unit and the IRT, who stormed the first camp where the pupils were kept, engaged some kidnappers there in a gun duel.