THE Ogun State government has commended the Nestle Nigeria Plc for its various supports to the state-owned primary schools and students across some local governments.
The chairman of the state’s Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Dr Femi Majekodunmi, gave the commendation at the final and award ceremony of this year’s Nestle for healthier kids’ inter-school quiz competition among primary school students in the state.
The final was held in Abeokuta, the state capital, with Oke-Ona United Primary School, Elega, in Abeokuta North LG area, emerging as winner.
The second, third and fourth prizes of the annual competition, which is the fifth in the series, went to St. Peter’s Primary School, Siun in Obafemi Owode LG area; China Nigeria Primary School, Igbesa and Sokoya Memorial School, Sagamu, respectively.
The SUBEB boss highlighted some of the Nestle supports to include: the construction of new blocks of classrooms, modern toilets, boreholes, provision of water tanks, furniture, desktop computers, movable basketball post and kits, cooking gas stoves, school bags and water bottles as well as classroom renovation.
The company has also supported some schools, teachers and students with learning materials, capacity training, football fields and jerseys, teachers’ awards, and so forth as applicable.
Majekodunmi disclosed that no fewer than 20 schools across Abeokuta North, Obafemi Owode, Sagamu and Ado-Odo Ota local government areas benefited from the interventions, adding that the supports are greatly enhancing both teaching and learning in those schools and the state at large.
In her remarks, the Corporate Communication, Public Affairs and Sustainability Lead, Nestle Nigeria, Mrs Victoria Uwadoka, said the essence of the various interventions by the company to government-owned schools not only in Ogun, but also in few other states such as Lagos and the FCT is on premise that government needs private sector support.
She said the company believes that only the quality education that is accessible to every child regardless of family backgrounds can lift people out of poverty and ignorance and also bring about genuine economic prosperity to families and society.
She disclosed that “the focus of the Nestle Healthier Kids’ quiz competition is on the conviction that a healthy child will be more effective in class and other lawful activities and also perform better in their studies than an unhealthy peer.
“And when such is achieved, such children will be more productive and do well in their leadership roles in the future and also be able to live long and quality lifes,” she added.
Uwadoka disclosed that the company would not only reach out to more schools in terms of infrastructural and learning material support from next year but also make the annual competition an inter-state and to begin with Ogun, Lagos and the FCT.
She, however, called on the various state governments to include nutritional education in their basic school curriculum, using the company quiz competition design as a template.
The high-point of the event was the award of prizes to representatives of winning schools.
While the star prize co-winners, Saidat Oguntade and Daniel Makinde, both 11-year and in primary five) received certificate of excellence, school bags and other items for themselves and basketball courts and jerseys, desktop computers and table tennis courts for their school, second and third prize winners received lesser rewards.
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