Ilesa Grammar School Alumni Target N1bn Development Fund

By Victor Adeoti

The Ilesa Grammar School Old Students Association says it is targeting N1 billion for the development of the school.

Dr Wale Bolorunduro, the Chairman of the organising committee of the 90th Anniversary of the school, announced this during the banquet and endowment fund of the association in Ilesa, Osun.

Bolorunduro said that the money, when realised would be spent over the next three to four years for the development of the school.

He said the association had realised N200 million out of the money.

Bolorunduro said that the objective of the anniversary was to elevate the school to the national consciousness and to rethink the way the school would be managed in a public-private partnership mode.

He said it was also to galvanise the old students toward bringing back the old glory of the school.

In his remarks, Gov. Ademola Adeleke said the state government would continue to collaborate with stakeholders for the developing of education sector in the state.

Adeleke, who was given an award of the “Most Benevolent Leader in Nigeria” by the association, said that the state government would also embrace the idea of public-private partnership for the development of quality education.

He said that the state government would create a standing government alumni partnership board at all levels of education.

The governor said that the board would exist at local and state levels with focus on harnessing developmental support from governmental and non-governmental sources for the development of the schools.

Dr Akin Fapohunda, who delivered a lecture at the event, said that the best of education had to be paid for in order to guarantee sustainability.

Fapohunda spoke on the theme: ”Stakeholders Involvement: Shaping the Future of Learning, Towards the Future of Work”.

He said that subsidies through bursaries, grants and scholarship had to be instituted by the government in partnership with all relevant stakeholders to assist brilliant, but needy students.

“It was common practice in the 1970s for commercial entities of the government such as the then Western Nigeria Cocoa Marketing Board to grant annual scholarship to students of the region.

“There are also the German Government scholarship for Western region students in Nigerian universities.

“These are instances of a very proactive action by the then government to mobilise financial resources from other stakeholders in aid of needy students”, he said.

Fapohunda, however, said that due lack of jobs after school, there had been massive movement of the very best in the country to other parts of the world.

”There has been massive movement of the very best of our society in recent years by air, land or sea to just anywhere in the world. It has been an exodus of our most educated.

”With pension no longer of value to the retired aged, and the youths and middle aged families existing by the droves, the Yoruba society is haemorrhaging, and the dreams of our founding fathers have now unravelled before our very eyes”, he said.

Dr Obisesan Daramola, the President of the association, said the alumni would continue to give their best towards the development of the school. (NAN)

Edited by Tayo Ikujuni