The Nation Newspaper

Tag: pupils

  • Pupils learn safe use of internet

    To guide the youth on the right path to life, the Women’s Technology Empowerment Centre (WTEC), has taken its crusade to secondary schools pupils in Sabo to educate them on the safety usage of the internet

    This was in commemoration of the February 7 World Internet Day. This year’s celebration which had as its theme: “Be the change agent, unite for a better internet”, was in collaboration with facebook, a social medium platform.

    Addressing pupils at the Reagan Memorial Baptist Girls School, Sabo, Yaba, on Lagos Mainland, WTEC Communication Officer Mr Adeyemi Odutola, said the internet has become part of the human life with its positive and negative impacts.

    He advises pupils to be careful with what they post on social media as it could be used.

    “Mind what you write on facebook. For instance, do not post that your parents have travelled and you are the only one at home, or with your siblings. Criminals after getting such information could break into your house, kidnap, steal or even do worse than that. Do not take pictures that can disclose your home address on your profile on facebook or your number, likewise do not put your parents names. Some of your parents are government officials, you could put them in danger,” he advised, adding that  they should rather criticise an issue than lay insults on social media platforms.

    Odutola explained that the internet is being filled with free wifi, which if connected to, could hack ones device. He noted that it is necessary to retrieve a hacked account in order to be on a safer side.

    He admonished them to desist from posting nude pictures and also taking such on their phones as such could be retrieved even when deleted.

    ” Stop posting nude pictures, it is disrespectful, shameful. It embarrasses you, your school and parents. So many of you young girls think its fun sticking out your tongue to take photos, or take pictures in your toilet or bathroom or pose half nude. Do not take nude pictures on your phone and feel you will delete it later. Those deleted photos can be retrieved using an app. Imagine you delete some pictures sometimes ago and probably you have sold your phone out or given it out and eventually, the person you sold it to might install the app and use it to retrieve all your deleted photos. Before you know what is happening, the pictures you think only you knew about has become an internet sensation.”

    The Executive Director WTEC, Mrs Oreoluwa Lesi, said the global safer internet day is set aside to celebrate and raise awareness of the internet, online issues among young people.

    Other schools that participated were: Lagos City Model College; Aje Comprehensive Junior High School; and Wesley Girls Senior Secondary School.

     

  • Lycee Francais holds curriculum workshop for parents of primary school pupils

    With Nigeria being surrounded by French-speaking countries, the French government has showcased the benefits of the French school curriculum through its Lagos-based school, Lycée Français Louis Pasteur, located in Victoria Island.

    The school, which belongs to the worldwide network of schools operating under the French Agency for Teaching Abroad (AEFE), is managed by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

    During an information session for parents of primary school-aged puils held at the Human Rights auditorium of the school, parents learnt about the French primary school system as well as the French curriculum in comparison with other international curricula – highlighting the school’s bilingual teaching.

    Principal of the school, Mr. Alain Berna, said with the world becoming a global village, today’s children should be exposed to values and skills that would prepare them to compete on the world stage.

    He said the French educational system promotes strong positive values such as freedom, equality, togetherness, respect, spirit of justice, solidarity, freedom of speech, openness, creative spirit, and diversity,

    He added that pupils that pass through Lycée Français are trained to develop curiosity and courage with which they can excel in all of their chosen endeavours.

    “At Lycée Français, parents can be assured of a teaching language that is rich, varied and efficient,” Berna said, adding that “the French language is the paramount language of instruction, but does not overshadow learning in many other languages like English, Spanish, German and others on request.”

    He said the school takes advantage of the diversity of its students and the languages they practice to make plurilingual education one of its priorities.

    Director of the school, Mrs. Pascale Lagleize, said parents of primary school-aged children were targeted because of the importance of primary education in the French Education system.

    “The primary school is the gateway to the French school system, which is divided into the eight kindergarten classes and 14 elementary classes,” she said.

    Lagleize explained that while following the French national curriculum, students benefit from reinforced English teaching through the bilingual system. She said personalised support, citizens, artistic, cultural projects, as well as numerous extracurricular activities complement this teaching and allows pupils to learn at their own pace and flourish.

    The French curriculum presentation was facilitated by Olivier Alfonsi, Head of Pedagogical Training at the school.

  • Malnourished pupils

    •Intervention is needed to arrest cognitive damage of future leaders

    At the flag off ceremony of Home Grown School Feeding Programme in Lagos, the state’s deputy governor, Dr. Idiat Adebule, revealed some worrisome statistics: 42 per cent of school children suffer malnutrition disorder and 49 per cent of school absenteeism is caused by malnourishment of children.

    As outlandish as these figures may sound, they correspond to other health-related statistics already captured by UNICEF and many universities in the country. Twenty percent of school children suffer anaemia; 11 million children are stunted; and over 2.5 million suffer severe acute malnutrition; and 20% of children under five suffer from Vitamin A deficiency. Given the fact that primary education is not compulsory nationwide, it is conceivable that the figure of 42% of malnourished children will be much higher if children not in school are counted.

    Causes of malnutrition are not far-fetched: 70% of the population are poor and have been for over one decade; lack of food security arising from underperformance of the agriculture sector; ignorance of parents and guardians about importance of feeding children a balanced diet of protein, fruits and vegetables rich in vitamins, and reasonable amount of complex carbohydrates. Ironically, it is protein, the food group that stimulates and sustains proper physical and mental development that is most prohibitive in terms of price for millions of parents. Ironically too, children who need protein-rich food to grow do not get it. Ponmo, cow skin with little protein value, is most often the only meat that features in the diet of poor parents and their children.

    Similarly, effects of malnutrition in children are too grave for any serious government to ignore. Malnourished children experience stunted growth; they are more susceptible to infections; they get sick more often than their properly nourished counterparts; and they experience impaired cognitive development. Put simply, malnutrition is a condition that no serious country can disregard.

    Recent examples are instructive: Osun State, the first to provide free meals for primary school children, has had marked progress in school enrolment, retention, and performance. Similarly, thousands of school children who rushed to enrol in Kaduna schools after the introduction of free meals and who at the beginning were in the habit of leaving school soon after eating, are now reported to have adjusted to the culture of learning.

    It is, therefore, salutary that the Federal Government has provided leadership for a nation-wide free school meal programme. But this can only be the beginning of a full complement of social interventions that can address root causes of child malnutrition. Governments have to embark conscientiously on reducing poverty, which largely makes it normal for parents to serve their children food with low nutrient value. In addition to achieving food security, the gap between the haves and the have-nots needs to be reduced radically through re-distribution. A minimum wage of N18, 000 cannot provide nourishing food for any family. Normally, all Nigerian cultures value children and parents like to raise physically and mentally fit children that can face the challenges of modern life.

    Any disorder that affects 42% of school children deserves to be treated as a national emergency. The cost to citizens and the nation of the effects of malnutrition disorder of a huge percentage of school population is too high. Bringing almost half of the population into adulthood without the capacity to cope with complexities of modern life and increasing the healthcare bills for such a huge chunk of the population is an illustration of poor governance. No society can develop in the competitive global environment with almost half of its school population disabled by malnutrition.

    Apart from embarking sincerely on anti-poverty reforms at all levels of government, it is imperative for governments to invest in health and nutrition education. Parents and their children need to be given proper nutrition education, particularly the knowledge that it is children in the first 15 years of life that need protein and nutrients-rich food more direly than their parents.

    The media should expand and sustain campaign against child nutrition and report any progress made in the fight against malnourishment. School feeding is a commendable intervention, but to avoid the negative costs of child malnutrition, governments and parents need to take a holistic view of the role of proper nutrition in individual and national development. Balanced diet for children from birth is the only way to ensure full physical and mental development of citizens.

  • Kidnappers fail to release pupils, others after collecting ransom

    Kidnappers fail to release pupils, others after collecting ransom

    Distraught parents and relatives of the kidnapped Nigerian Turkish International Colleges (NTIC) are wondering what next after their hope of reuniting with their loved ones was dashed at the weekend.

    The kidnappers, who stormed the school premises, snatching away three children and five members of the staff, were said to have promised to release the victims on Friday night.

    Their promise, it was gathered, was sequel to the over N10million ransom the kidnappers allegedly collected from the victims’ relatives.

    It was learnt that the kidnappers had ordered the relatives to drop the ransom at designated points on Friday. They were later told where to pick up their relatives.

    But the kidnappers reneged on the agreement on allegation that some of the relatives brought security operatives to the designated places.

    While some were asked to go to certain locations in Ogun and Ondo states, others were directed to wait at Agboju, on the Badagry Expressway around 9pm on Friday.

    They were also warned not to receive any telephone call, except theirs while at the designated points.

    Having disappointed them on Friday, it was gathered that the kidnappers told the parents the children would be returned on Saturday night.

    The parents, it was gathered, pleaded with the police to stay off the matter, insisting that since they had paid the ransom, they were only interested in having their children back.

    A woman, who pleaded not to be named for security reasons, said her family paid N5million on Friday.

    She said: “What else do they want us to do? We paid N5 million and yet they have refused to release my little girl. This is the ninth day and the longest of all such incidents in schools ever witnessed. Is this a repeat of Chibok girls abduction?

    “The most annoying part is that the Ogun State government seems to be adamant over this. Apart from the day the Deputy Governor visited the school and assured us that they would be released, nothing has been heard from the government.

    “One would have expected that such kidnap in a foreign school should be given the needed attention, so as to redeem our image internationally, but no! They have left us to our fate because it is not their children that are involved.

    “The police keep assuring us that they would release them. How long do they want us to wait, for eternity?”

    The police said they were hopeful the girls would be rescued in a few days time.

    According to the spokesman for Ogun command, Abimbola Oyeyemi, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), security forces are closing in the kidnappers.

    He said: “We are very optimistic. We believe that we would rescue the girls soon. It is not true that we have not been talking with the parents. How can we abandon them? It will be unfair for any parent to say so because it is far from the truth. The only thing is that we can not reveal the strategy we are taking because that may jeopardise our efforts.”

  • Pupils get Ajasin’s Foundation scholarship

    Five pupils of Owo High School, in Ondo State have won the Adekunle Ajasin Memorial Scholarship (AAMS).

    The AAMS, courtesy of Ajasin’s Foundation, was pioneered by Dr. Bode Ogunleye, an old student of Owo High School who at present lives in the United States of America (U.S.A). The initiative is therefore in memory of the late Adekunle Micheal Ajasin, who was a former principal of the school and former Governor of Ondo State.

    The event which is the second edition honoured the deserving students with a certificate, cash prizes and Ajasin Scholar’s pin.

    The five awardees, adjudged for emerging best in their various classes were; Salaudeen Raimot (JSS 2), Alfred Funmilayo (JSS 3), Lawrence Israel (SSS 1), Adetula Lekan (SSS 2) and Fadairo Olarenwaju (SSS 3).

    The ceremony was hosted by the school principal Chief Adekunle Aladeseye before a crowd of students, teachers, parents, old students, community representatives and members of Ajasin Foundation to round off the first term.

    Aladeseye appreciated the foundation for the initiative which to him is geared towards encouraging and inspiring other students to achieve greatness in life.

    He urged other old students to toe Ogunleye’s steps by remembering their alma-mater and assisting the school’s growing population which he currently put at over 2,500.

    Presenting the awards, secretary of the foundation, Mrs. Jumoke Anifowose, congratulated the awardees and their parents, advising the former not  to rest on their oars. He urged them to continue to excel and not drop from their current status.

    “I am surprised that the recipients of last year awards are not the same set of students this year. Awardees should not make it an once-and-for- all affair, but continue tobe the best always.

    “I wish to add that an annual award of N100,000 goes to the best graduating student upon admission into a post secondary institution. The award is renewable yearly as long as the awardee maintains a performance  not lower than second class upper division.”

    Seven teachers of the school also received awards and certificates.

    They include:  Femi Ogunsola; Tope Ojo, Mrs. Oluwajobi R.T, Mr. Tenabe C.T, Mr. Aladekoyi O.G, Mr. Ologunye O.K and Mr. Arogundade Segun.

    Also in attendance were a member of Ajasin Foundation Mrs. Waleola Okunrinboye, national president of Owo High School Old Students Association, Rev. Canon Oladimeji, as well as Chief Remi Okunrinboye.

     

  • Group distributes food items to 2600 pupils

    A group, Sparkle Foundation has distributed 2600 packs of food stuff to pupils of Makoko African Nursery/Primary School, Aiyetoro African Church Primary School and Adekunle Primary School Makoko in Lagos.

    The items distributed include rice, bottles of groundnut oil, Indomie noodles, milk and salt.

    The foundation’s Chief Executive Officer, Mrs Olasimbo Ojuroibi said the gesture was to reach out to the less privileged in the society.

    Mrs Ojuroibi said: “Christmas Give Away is a programme meant to help every child and family have a better Christmas by supporting them with food items. We have been in this area for about two years and we have identified Makoko as one of the less privileged area and that is one of the reasons I have decided to spend the next five years to work with them to see how our foundation could support the less privileged in this area,” she said.

    Head Teacher of Aiyetoro African Church Primary School, Makoko, Mrs Veronica Ogunderu thanked the foundation for supporting the school.

    Mrs Ogunderu said: “I am very happy, the children are very happy, the staff and even the community as a whole are very happy. As they care for the other people’s children, God also will take care of their own children.

    “Before now, the foundation has been coming to our school to investigate and ask about our challenges and the areas we need assistance. We told them we need furniture for the pupils and thereafter, they brought some benches and desks for the kindergarten classes”.

    Speaking on behalf of the pupils, the Senior Girl of Makoko African Nur/Pry School, Miss Blessing Eze said: “I really feel so happy. The gift items we received are very nice. I thank Sparkle foundation for remembering our school and for giving us special gifts. May God continue to assist them.”

  • Pupils urged to imbibe moral values

    Tutor-General/Permanent Secretary Education District II, Mrs Titilayo Solarin, has urged students to exemplify moral values anchored on honesty, compassion, courage, modesty, and forgiveness.

    She spoke in Lagos during the final stage of the quiz and public speaking competition, organised by a non-governmental organisation, Academic Excellence Initiative (AEI), with the theme: ‘Beyond the walls’.

    Solarin, represented by Mrs Ronke Matuluko, urged participants to demonstrate sound moral ethics, values and be sensitive to other people’s plight.

    “Learn to build trust, credibility and respect for yourselves as well as other people,” she said.

    Tutor-General/Permanent Secretary, Education District IV, Mrs Lola Are-Adegbite, represented by Mrs Adenike Ajayi, said the initiative will create opportunities for students to be taught and mentored in leadership skills in a practical and ethical manner.

    According to her, the programme will give young people room for increased intellectual growth through team work, while introducing them to skills needed for effective decision making, how to adopt change and tolerate the views of others.

    The programme would engender the development of the pupils’ verbal, written and other communication skills, increase their knowledge in their chosen field of endeavour and develop them towards self-discovery and actualisation, she added.

    AEI Project Coordinator, Mr Olabanjo Shefiu, said the initiative aims to encourage academic excellence, morals and ethics among the future leaders.

    He explained that the contest, which began in October was in three stages.

    “The competition is about quiz and public speaking. We had about 45 schools in the first stage from which we selected 15 schools that were qualified for the second stage. At the second stage, five schools were selected from among the 15 schools to compete for the final stage.

    “Participants were given consolation prizes and the overall winner and the first and second runners up have special gifts,” Mr Sheffiu said.

     

  • Pupils told to trump poverty

    Poverty is no excuse for failure in life.  This was one of the important lessons pupils of five public secondary schools in Lagos State learnt during the 2016 Beyond the School programme sponsored by the Nigerian Breweries/Felix Ohiwerei Education Trust Fund and held at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.

    The pupils, drawn from Oregun Senior Secondary School, Oregun; Vetland Senior Secondary School, Agege; Government Senior Secondary School, Ikoyi; Baptist Senior High School, Obanikoro and Eric Moore Senior High School, Surulere, heard from Mrs Clementine Vervelde, the brain behind the programme, and others such as Ayeni Adekunle, the CEO of Black House Media; Abisoye Ajia, a Wealth Adviser with Stanbic IBTC; and Mrs Ini Onuk, CEO, ThistlePraxis Consulting Limited, about how to develop themselves beyond the circumstances they find themselves in school or at home.

    They got tips on how to choose careers, defend their choices before their parents, work towards achieving their goals, and manage their finances. They also got opportunity to ask questions.

    To address the challenges of poverty, Mrs Vervelde advised the teenagers to take part-time jobs, study for scholarships, and make creative use of their talents.

    “The world is getting smaller.  The sky is your limit.  This country should not limit you. Poverty is not an excuse to get to where you want.  You can do extra jobs, be creative, get scholarships by studying hard,” she said.

    With their personal stories,  Adekunle and Mrs Onuk proved to the pupils that poverty could not stand in their way.  They shared how they overcame poor economic background to become successful entrepreneurs early in life.

    Adekunle said he was employing 19 people by the time he got into the university; while Mrs Onuk said at 16, she had started supporting her family of six siblings and two parents.  They counselled the pupils to be innovative.

    “What made me escape poverty, what gave me a career, was not what I studied in the classroom but what I did in my free time. Up till now I have never had to show anybody my certificate to get a job.  The most important time of your life is now. Don’t think Nigeria can limit you. Don’t look at how much your parents have; just close your eyes and dream big,” he said.

    On her part, Mrs Onuk, the daughter of a roadside watch repairer, said: “Don’t think your parents have to do everything.  I started putting food on the table at 16.  I paid my way through the University of Calabar.  Nothing is impossible,” she said.

    To make the right career choices, Mrs Vervelde advised the pupils to develop skills and knowledge in their areas of interest and also read widely.

    “Read newspapers. Watching TV is an easy way out.  But when you read, you improve your English, knowledge of what is happening, awareness… you don’t know where you will end up,” she said.

    Nigerian Breweries Corporate Affairs Adviser, Mr. Kufre Ekanem, counselled the pupils to face their studies despite the economic challenges.

    The event featured a Monopoly competition which was won by Godwin Daniel of Eric Moore Senior High School.  He was rewarded with an educational fund of N500, 000 and a cash prize of N100, 000. Pelumi Fabiyi of Oregun Senior Secondary School got N250, 000 as educational grant and N50, 000 as cash prize for coming second; while Uche David of Oregun Senior Secondary School got N50, 000 Stock Mutual Fund and N10,000 cash for coming third.

    The fourth and fifth placed winners got N50,000 and N20,000 each. All pupils present went home with a Lagos edition Monopoly game.

     

  • Learner-friendly device for teachers, pupils

    A software which demystifies learning between pupils and teachers has been demonstrated to heads of schools, proprietors and directors of learning.

    Either in school or at home, learners have unfettered access to their teachers or facilitators through a tap on the button on the digital device.

    Dynamiss, a digital learning solutions firm, and facilitator of the device tagged ‘LP365, said the software could only be installed on request by interested schools, which eventually get by through a username and a password.

    Dynamis Country Director, Lolu Elegbe spoke during a conference tagged: ‘Digital education and IT funding,’ which was held at Classique Events Centre in Oregun, Lagos.The event was organised in conjunction with Microsoft.

    Elegbe said the application could be most ideal during emergency.

    “For example during the time of Ebola, students who were sent home could have continued their studies at their various homes,” Elegbe said.

    According to him, the initiative behind LP365 is to drive digital learning in Africa.  “We know that Nigeria and most of Africa is not where they are supposed to be in terms of digital learning; so we are trying to bridge that gap in terms of where we are and where we are supposed to be.

    “We have to make sure that we are sending them (graduates) out with the right digital skills that they need in the global market,” he added.

    He said reception by Nigerians to the device has been dramatic.

    “(Initially), We had some level of scepticism as we felt Nigeria is not ready, but when we started to tell people what we are doing, why we are doing it and show them the application, the response has been encouraging,” he said.

    Elegbe explained that a number of schools have keyed into the initiative, noting that they would not be receptive to more offers.

    “It is built specifically for schools so any school can use it no matter how small,” he said.

    He continued: “The world is moving too quickly so we need to make digital education a benchmark here. We need to get to the point where we don’t take books but tablets to school and we will need the federal government to make that happen.”

    On her part, the firm Head of Sales Angela Oyekanmi, said the software is available at N10,000 per licence.

     

  • Pupils participate in Corps member’s business contest

    A National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member serving in Odo-Otin Local Government Area of Osun State, Ibrahim Anoba, has vowed to promote skill acquisition and entrepreneurship among young people in the state. In achieving his aim, Ibrahim organised a free enterprise contest for pupils of five secondary schools, tagged: How entrepreneurship promotes community peace, prosperity and justice.

    The contest was held at St. Peters Anglican Middle School in Inisa.  Five schools, including Odo-Otin High School, Inisa High School, Igbaye Community High School, Government Technical College and  Okua Community High School participated in the contest.

    Ibrahim said his seven-month stay in Inisa town gave him opportunity to gauge young people’s mood towards business. Inisa youths, he said, are industrious and have flare for business.

    “I noticed youngsters here have strong passion for trade. In the local markets, they are either owners of small businesses or assisting their parents. Some even skip schools for market days,” Ibrahim said.

    The Corps member collaborated with African Liberty Organisation for Development (ALOD) to equip the pupils with ideas to transform their small businesses to big enterprises.

    The pupils were taken through entrepreneurship trainings before the contest. Mr Bolarinwa Olabode, a development expert and Director of Refuge of Life Foundation, enlightened the pupils on the benefits of volunteerism.

    During the contest, each participating school was represented by two pupils. After the engaging debate, Inisa Grammar School, represented by Caleb Fabowale and Abdul-Rasaq Abdul-Akeem, came first.

    Isaac Bolarinwa and Oladayo Ajiboye of Government Technical School took second position, while Mayowa Oluwaremi and Olubukola Iyiola of Odo-Otin High School came third.

    ALOD Executive Director, Adedayo Thomas, praised the Corps members for the project, encouraging the pupils to work harder to attain their dreams. Thomas said the project was supported by ALOD in conjunction with Kids4Biz, Acton Institute and Language of Liberty Institute.

    He said: “It is a great joy taking these young Africans through the principles of free market system. I am glad to see them coming out with understanding ideas to improve their business skills.”

    During the competition, hundreds of copies of a book titled Johnny Profit and 250 copies of Ideas For A Free Society compact discs were distributed to the pupils.