Support your alma mater, Kogi govt charges old boys associations

The Kogi state Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mr Wemi Jones, has called on old boys associations of secondary schools in the state to support and contribute their quota toward the development of education in their alma maters.

Hon. Jones made the call on Tuesday at Our Lady of Schools (OLS), Anyigba, Dekina local government area of Kogi state during the distribution of free chemistry and physics textbook donated by the Auditor-General for Local Government, Alhaji Usman Ododo to 148 public secondary schools in Kogi East Senatorial District .

The commissioner who described education as a social service, stated that no single government can effectively fund the sector no matter how rich that government is.

He stated that the introduction of school mentorship and adoption programme in Kogi state by the present administration would no doubt encouraged people to come out and support what the government is doing in education especially at primary and secondary school levels.

“It is a statement of fact that previous government abandoned education for so long that led to infrastructure decay in primary and secondary schools in the state.

“The current administration led by Governor Yahaya Bello has came up with determination and zeal to revamp the education sector that is why 30% was allocated to education in the state’s 2022 annual budget to fund the sector.

“I am optimistic that with this decision every school in the state will be given a facelift. My appeal is that those who are well to do should emulate those who are already supporting and contributing to the development of education in the state.

“We are distributing 11, 000 science textbooks to senior secondary schools across the three senatorial districts of the state. We have done that of Kogi central and we are now at Kogi east and very soon we will move to Kogi west. This textbooks was donated by a single person Alhaji Usman Ododo aimed at adding value to teaching and learning in science subjects.

“We are calling and encouraging well to do kogites including old boys associations to come together pick a project in your alma mater and execute it for the school, this will definitely give a facelift to the schools.

“Government is not abdicating its responsibility to any body , but we are saying whatever assistance we can get from people who have benefitted from the system it is not a bad request” the commissioner stated.

In his goodwill message, the President of All Nigeria Confederation of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS) Mr Robert Awodi, thanked Governor Bello for elongating teacher’s years of service to 65.

He assured that the science textbooks donated by the Auditor-General for local government will be judiciously utilized to spur other people to sponsor and donate more books in other subjects to schools in the state.

Also, a students of Holy Rosery College, Idah, Fatima Yusuf, who spoke on behalf of other students, thanked the donor and promised that they will use the books to pass their WAEC and NECO with good grades.