For Nigeria to meet current global standards in education, old students’ associations must partner with other stakeholders and play active roles in improving the vital sector.
Ondo State Governor, Dr Lucky Aiyedatiwa, made the observation while commissioning a newly renovated dining hall at Saint Thomas Aquinas College, Akure, at the weekend.
The multi-million-naira hall was renovated and equipped with modern facilities by members of the 1983–88/89 set of the prestigious college to mark their reunion, 36 years after graduating from the school.
Aiyedatiwa, who was represented by his deputy, Dr Olayide Adelami, commended the old students for returning to their alma mater to improve its infrastructure, stating that the task of enhancing the quality of education is the responsibility of all.
According to him, education remains the bedrock of societal growth and development. He added that his administration would continue to accord the sector the priority it deserves to ensure that graduates of institutions in the state can compete favourably with their peers across the globe.
He noted that the best way to encourage young people to embrace education is to provide attractive, unique, and well-equipped school facilities. In addition, he said his administration would not relent in its efforts to employ more qualified teachers to fill existing vacancies in primary, secondary, and tertiary institutions across the state.
The governor disclosed that his administration had recently employed over 2,000 teachers, the first major recruitment in over ten years.
In support of the association’s gesture, Aiyedatiwa promised that his administration would provide a solar-powered borehole for the dining hall and urged other graduates of the college to emulate the set.
Earlier in his remarks, the Catholic Bishop of Ondo Diocese, Most Rev Dr Jude Ayodeji Arogundade, lauded the old students for executing such a gigantic project for their alma mater, describing them as a unique set with lion hearts.
He reaffirmed that the commitment to restoring the school’s lost glory remains unwavering and assured that every possible effort is being made to ensure the institution becomes a non-profit citadel of learning, where the child of a carpenter can comfortably sit in the same class with the child of a medical doctor.
In his remarks, the President of the set, Comrade Stephen Adedipe, revealed that the project was executed at a cost of ₦28 million, adding that members of the group had also been supporting the families of their departed colleagues through various empowerment schemes.