The Tutor-General/ Permanent Secretary, Education District VI, Lagos State, Mrs. Iyabo Osifeso, has urged wealthy Nigerians to support the government in the provision of infrastructure in schools.
She made the appeal in Lagos while inaugurating a sickbay and first aid kits donated to some public secondary schools in the state by a National Youth Service Corps member, Miss Ajoke Adebowale.
The government alone, she said, could not provide all the needed facilities and infrastructure in schools.
The tutor-general, represented by an educationist, Mr. Akinsola Samson, particularly noted that Adebowale’s initiative to support the schools was commendable.
She said, “This presentation by Miss Adebowale is very much appreciated. However, the government will want to see more wealthy individuals and voluntary organizations that have the mind of executing similar projects to present them to schools. This is important because the government alone cannot do everything in the education sector.”
The donor’s efforts, Osifeso added, would not have been possible without an enabling environment.
According to the tutor-general, corps members need the right atmosphere to display their innate dream to move the society forward.
Adebowale, said the donation was her “little contribution” to boosting primary health care delivery in the school community.
According to her, the project, codenamed ‘Health4Life Personal Community Development Service’ was born out of her concern over the dearth of basic health facilities in some public secondary schools in the state.
She said, “At the beginning of my service year, I had the opportunity to visit a couple of public secondary schools in Lagos State, in a bid to choose an appropriate school to carry out my mandate to train and mentor at least 40 secondary school students as peer educators in HIV/AIDS and reproductive health.
“It was quite alarming to find out that many of the schools did not have basic health facilities like sickbay that could be of help in case of emergency situations.”
She added, “I will want us to know that the mandate of developing our communities should not be left to the government alone because it is the responsibility of every one of us. Let us always see the need, take the lead, and heed to the call.”
