The Nation Newspaper

Tag: pupils

  • Lawmaker holds water safety workshop for pupils

    A member of Lagos State House of Assembly, Rasheed Makinde, has hosted pupils of public and private schools in Ojokoro Local Council Development Area (LCDA), to an advocacy workshop.

    The pupil’s also went on excursion to the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Water Safety Project as part of efforts to commemorate the World Water Day.

    The event, held at the APC Secretariat at Jankara in Ojokoro, Lagos, attended graced by teachers, principals, political and community leaders.

    Makinde said the event would educate and expose pupils to usage, purification and safety of water.

    “As safe and readily available water is important for public health, whether it is used for drinking, domestic usage, production or recreational purposes, the well-being of my constituents is paramount as contaminated water and poor sanitation are linked to epidemic transmission such as cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis A and typhoid,” he said.

    The facilitator, Dr Sam Okom said, water was an essential commodity.

  • Education is key, pupils told

    Pupils have been advised to take education as a priority to succeed in life.

    The National Chairman of the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), Olawale Oshun, gave the advice at his 67th birthday celebration, which his non-governmental organisation (NGO) Olawale Oshun Foundation, organised for him in collaboration with the Pen Society of Nigeria.

    Tagged: Oshun 17 reads, the event held at the National Library, Yaba, had pupils from schools within Lagos Mainland.

    Oshun said education was the bedrock of whatever the pupils aspire in life as it would enable them contribute to the development of the nation.

    He advised that the 21st Century has created a wider environment and made information easily accessible, therefore, the youth should take advantage of the Information Communication Technology (ICT) platform to boost their knowledge.

    “You have a wider environment now compared to our days. You have access to internet, Information Communication Technology all these at your doorsteps. It is left for you to explore these opportunities. They are to enhance your knowledge because irrespective of your career choices in life, education should be prioritised,” he said.

    Responding to questions from them on youth development Oshun said: “It is you that need to have the zeal to do something. You have to make yourselves available, then, the opportunities will definitely come by. If you want to serve the society, you have to be willing to sacrifice to serve other people well. You can start showing those capabilities in your early stage in your school environment.  At times, it might not be rosy seeing yourself placing other peoples’ needs before yours; that is just the spirit of sacrifice.”

    “You need to have confidence to discuss your ambition with your parents. Do not wait till they start asking you. Discuss it with your teachers and people you think can help you shape your understanding towards the path you have chosen. In all, your education is key and learn to be skilful. Remember, good education with a bad attitude is useless,” he warned.

    He noted that celebrating his birthday with them was a step he took seven years ago when he marked his 60th birthday. According to him, it was to encourage pupils on their education.

    The event also featured presentations of articles by pupils on ‘National Youth Development’.

    A member of the Pen Society, Mr Olarewaju Adelaja, said the organisation is a literary and art oriented gruop, interested in developing the reading culture among the youth.

  • Adeneye fetes pupils on birthday

    Ogun State Commissioner for Information and Strategy Adedayo Adeneye has donated bags, sandals, books and other educational items to pupils in Odogbolu Local Government Area.

    The commissioner made the donation under the aegis of his Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO),Adeneye Foundation, as part of activities to mark his birthday yesterday.

    Adeneye, who said he was committed to the well-being and emancipation of the needy, added that his love for children, teachers and the under privileged, necessitated the gesture.

    Recalling his childhood and how his teachers moulded him, the commissioner said this prepared him for the challenges he faced in life, urging teachers not to relent in their efforts.

    Reward of teachers, he noted, was no longer in heaven, expressing the hope that they will be rewarded on earth.

    Adeneye called on other well-to-do individuals, irrespective of their status and political affiliation, to remember their alma mater.

  • 130,000 pupils for Cross River feeding project

    THE Cross River State government has announced that the feeding of 130, 000 pupils in about 1, 100 public pre-primary, primary and junior secondary schools in the state would begin  in six weeks. The aim, according to government, is to drive pupils’enrolment in schools and ensure a high nutritional value.

    The state Coordinator and Special Adviser of the Home Grown School Feeding Programme, Mr Gabriel Okulaja, spoke during a workshop organised by his office in collaboration with the Federal Government Special Investment Programme of the Office of the Vice President.

    “We also have to enhance the value chain which has to do with the agricultural sector. We want to grow a local economy that would ensure we have sustainable communities,” Okulaja said.

    He continued: “We are to start feeding children in schools in about six weeks. A lot of work has been done. The first level is getting the schools, which we identified. We have also identified the number of vendors we need. The programme provides for a number of people to be fed by a number of vendors. A vendor is supposed to do a maximum of 150 per day. We have agreed on the state implementation framework, and the menus. We now go into the next level, which is the final screening of the vendors, which relates to their medicals and a training based on the outcome of this workshop.

    “An estimated number of pupils has not been fixed yet. We are still verifying the numbers. But what we have captured is about 130, 000. That is for the entry level. The final number would be out in about two weeks. Benefitting schools will be about 1,100 schools across the state. We are looking at nothing less than 1,000 vendors.”

    A communiqué at the end of the workshop signed by Chairman, Etaba Okpa Etaba, and secretary, Sir Demort Achor as well as six other members, called for the establishment and domestication of a policy for the state home grown school feeding programme.

    They also called for the supply of improved seeds and seedlings, fertilisers, agro-chemicals to small-scale farmers and building capacity on improved farm practices to boost local production of agricultural produce, among others.

     

  • Group urges pupils to exhibit good character

    A group, Yemi Osinbajo Vanguard (YOV) has urged pupils to exhibit good attitude, reading culture and determine their future skills to enable them become responsible persons in the society.

    Its National Coordinator Mr Seyi Bamigbade, who made the appeal at Glory Primary School, Ipaja Lagos State, when the group organised a ‘Back to School’ programme for them as part of the activities to mark the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo’s 60th birthday, said the event was aimed at celebrating the Acting President as an icon and nation builder. According to the group, it was to also demonstrate the love it has for the pupils and the value it attached to their well-being. “Education is the best and children without education are more or less a bird without wings,” it said.

    The group advised the parents/wards to always pay serious attention to their children’s education and welfare to make them become good citizen in future, urging them to join the pupils in detecting and nursing their skills while they are young. Thousands of books and writing materials were later presented to the pupils.

  • Pupils get career tips at St. Gregs

    Mentors across various professions gathered at St. Gregory’s College, Ikoyi, recently to share their career experience with the pupils to help them choose the right occupations during the school’s speech and prize giving day.

    The keynote speaker, Mr Federic Ijewere, who brought in resource persons to mentor the pupils, said it was pertinent for them to have an idea of what they choose to become in life.

    He said with Nigeria dominated by people in 0-35 age bracket, the competition among youths was stiff; therefore, he urged the pupils to strive to stand out in all they do.

    Speaking about the aviation industry, Captain Kenneth Wemambu, Chief Operating Officer of Airstream Aviation, said that the professin was such a big world with different specifications requiring passion to scale through.  He advised the pupils to take their studies seriously and have love for human life.

    On her part, Miss Damilola Ajayi, a petroleum engineer with GeoPro Technology, described engineering as a lucrative career with opportunities to visit various countries.

    She, however, warned that there was zero tolerance for unseriousness.  She urged them to put more efforts in their science subjects as they are the basic requirements.

    Felicia Okafor, a barrister and career guidance counselor, advised the pupils to do a thorough check on their personalities to guide their choices in life. She encouraged them to choose the career path that is linked with subjects they have passion for.

    “You have to be honest with yourself. Are you an introvert, extrovert or any other one; know yourself. It is not about receiving advice either from your parents or your school, you have to know what you want, you have to do the work. You are the one going to spend number of years in the university, do your research and know what you want because it is an important and critical step you are to embark on. Do not make the wrong choice and waste years in the university,” she advised.

    Ms Okafor also advised parents to allow their wards choose their careers so they do not end up frustrated.

    The school’s administrator, Rev Fr Emmanuel Ayeni, congratulated pupils who won prizes at the event.

    He said it was a day to celebrate Christ in the life of the pupils and member of staff. He encouraged them to continue the good work even beyond the school premises.

    President of the St Gregory’s Old Boys’ Association, Dr John Abebe, noted that the school recorded 100 per cent credit pass in the external examinations last year.

    He recognised the efforts of the non-academic staff.

    He also said the old boys association helps to boost the academic performances of the pupils by using themselves and their achievements in life as evidence that hard work pays.

     

  • Osun pupils, teachers laud volunteer corps scheme

    Public secondary school pupils in Osun State have lauded the Volunteer Corps Tutoring programme, a private intervention to help less privileged pupils improve through extra lessons.

    The programme aims at preparing SS3 pupils adequately for public examinations such as the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) conducted by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examination Council (NECO), as well as the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) conducted by the JAMB.

    The programme which features intensive weekend (Friday-Sunday) coaching began in Osun on December 10, last year, though it has existed in Lagos for 25 years.

    The pupils and volunteer teachers are fed meals during the classes to avoid distraction due to hunger and tiredness on the Saturdays.

    The pupils are being taught Mathematics and English and were given work books on both subjects that contain past questions as well as notebooks.

    Teachers got a manual; marking scheme of WAEC standard.

    State coordinator of the programme, Mrs Ibiyemi Ifaturoti, said there are scholarships available for those who excel in the examination.

    She visited some centres where the classes hold in various schools in the Ife/Ilesa zone recently, where pupils and teachers made positive comments about the scheme.

    Ozomue Mathew of School of Science, Ondo Road, described the intervention “as a nice project helping us. It will really be effective in eradicating mass failure in schools; we thank the organisers.”

    Abosede Fadare of St. Margaret’s High School, Ilesa, has her eyes on the scholarship.

    “(I will) try to be among the best so I can be one of those who will get the scholarship,” she said.

    Maths teacher, Mr Segun Lawrence Omisakin, said the programme was yielding fruits.

    “The project is fine and the students are responding well. I have no qualms teaching for free on the weekends I am supposed to be resting but it is God that rewards.  No amount of money can ever be enough,” he said.

    Mrs Abimbola Awofisayo, also a Maths teacher at the School of Science, Ondo Road, advised the organisers to start earlier with the next set.

    “It is a really nice programme but the time for preparation is short. I’ll advise the organisers to let’s start from maybe SS2 so we can catch them young. I have done a lot of volunteering in the past and my joy will be to meet the students in future when they have become successful,” she said.

    Hamza Musa, a youth corps member serving at C&S Middle School, Ilesa, but who teaches maths on weekends at St. Margaret’s High School, Ilesa, said participating in the programme was fulfilling.

    “I am usually free at weekends and decided to engage myself by coming here to teach. I’m enjoying imparting knowledge to the younger students and I’m happy they are responding well,” he said.

    Disclosing the reason for the intervention, Mrs Ifaturoti, said the poor performance of public schools pupils in the last WASSCE was just one of the motives for the initiative.

    “It is one of the motivations but it is really high time that we started impacting the lives of children in other places apart from Lagos. Let’s just say the time was just ripe” she said.

    The coordinator, who disclosed that convincing the teachers to work free on weekends,  was not easy  however acknowledged the roles played by the three zonal coordinators, Alhaji ‘Lekan Salami, Deaconess Adeola Akanji and Pastor Ayodele Obadire  in getting the programme started.

    She also thanked the Osun State governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola for approving the initiative.

     

  • 32, 400 pupils battle for NTIC maths scholarship

    A total of 32, 400 Primary Five and Six pupils are now in the race for 15 special scholarships tenable at any of the 17 branches of the Nigeria Tulip International Colleges (NTIC) nationwide.

    The 14th edition of the competition jointly organised by the NTIC and the National Mathematics Centre (NMC) took place in 52 locations across the entire federation.

    NTIC’s Managing Director, Mr. Orhan Kertim, said the second stage of the competition would hold at NTIC schools in Abuja, Kaduna, Kano, Ogun and Yobe states on Saturday, after which the best pupils would be rewarded at an award ceremony to hold in Abuja and Kano on March 15.

    He said the aim of the competition is to address the phobia for mathematics among young ones.

    “Our objective for organizing this competition is the recognition that Mathematics is the key subject for science-oriented courses and there is a well-known problem of pupils being afraid of Mathematics.  We decided to organise this competition towards eliminating the phobia or fear for Mathematics.

    “First, they prepare keenly for this competition and by the time they gain admission into junior secondary school, they discover that it assisted in building their interest in the subject and they easily demonstrate better performance,” he said..

    He said winners will get different categories of scholarship.

    “The best student wins N300, 000 and there are gifts for his/her school and Mathematics teacher.  The main prize is 100 per cent scholarship through the junior and senior secondary schools while the best student in each state gets 50 per cent scholarship,” he said.

    “Also, we offer scholarship for successful pupils; the competition has two legs; in the first one, the best three pupils in each state are offered 100 percent scholarship in an NTIC school.

  • Pupils advised to be change agents

    Pupils advised to be change agents

    Pupils of Doregos Private Academy, Ipaja, Lagos have been charged to be change agents in the society.

    Africa Leadership Forum Executive Director, Dr OLumide Ajayi, gave the charge while addressing pupils at the 20th Speech and Prize Giving Day of the school.

    He advised them to be ready to embrace change.

    “There would always be need for things to change. The more we ignore our gut-feelings or cutting- edge ideas the more likely we are to maintain the status quo. But the bad news is that if we ignore the signals that call for change there is someone somewhere who is responding positively to the nudge,” he said.

    Ajayi admonished the pupils to exercise leadership skills and commitment to excellence even in the face of challenges.

    He called on parents to teach their wards to approach life with a positive mindset to encourage them to be innovative.

    “What kind of future do we actually anticipate for our children? The answer to this question will determine our choices today in terms of the level and quality of education we give to our children, the moral value we instill in them…if we allow mediocrity in our approach to life, the generation to come would have nothing to build on,” he said.

    Chairman of the occasion, Mr Amos Adeleke, urged the pupils to have good atitude, adding that focus and perseverance yield success.

    The school’s Executive Director, Mr Bernardino Doregos, congratulated pupils who won prizes, noting that they have been inspired to bring out the best in them, and also the teachers who have relentlessly  shown effort  to mould the pupils, hence the award.

    The climax of the event was the presentation of awards to outstanding pupils and teachers.

    Bruce Omogbolahan, who made nine distinctions in the 2016 West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), was the cynosure of all eyes.

    Others included: Bello Abubakar, who was the Overall Best in the 2016 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE); Taiwo Oyikansola (overall best in SS2); Mr Akinlabi (rewarded for Staff dedication award).

  • Pupils get scholarship for reading Bini language

    Bini Monarch, Oba Ewuare II has awarded scholarship to three pupils of Osaretin Primary School, Egboko village for reciting an ancient story in Bini language.

    The three beneficiaries are Osakpamwan Osagumwenro, Osukhon Gift and Agobo Aisosa.

    Oba Ewuare II, who has expressed his determination and commitment to revive the Bini culture, tradition and use of Bini language, said the performance of the pupils gladdened his heart.

    He awarded the scholarship  in Ugo-Niyeke-Orhiowmon in Orhionwmon Local Government Area as part of his royal visits to communities in his kingdom.

    The Bini monarch said the scholarship for the three pupils would cover their education up to university education

    Oba Ewuare II told the people to speak Bini language at various gathering as well as ensure their children learn it in school.

    He urged parents to begin early education of their children in Bini traditional languages so as to preserve the cultural heritage of the Bini nation

    Traditional rulers in the locality urged the Oba to wade into boundary dispute with communities in Delta State, as well as stop the indiscriminate and unauthorised falling of timbers by some persons claiming to be working with the state government.

    The community leaders also requested the monarch to intervene in the activities of the foreign nationals in the area to intensify corporate social responsibilities in the areas.