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Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State cutting the tap during the inauguration of Vetland Junior Grammar School at Agege, on Wednesday, June 29, 2022. |
According to a statement by the Chief Press
Secretary to the Governor, Gboyega Akosile, the governor inaugurated a
nine-classroom block built to replace decrepit concrete structures in Vetland
Junior Grammar School, a Government-owned model college in Agege Local
Government Area.
The statement read, “The interactive
modular classrooms were improvised using standardised reusable freight
compartments, known as container.
“Each of the classroom compartment is
adequately-insulated to give comfort and create a conducive ambience for hybrid
learning for children in the public secondary school.
“The project is completed with three
laboratories and four staff rooms – all made from container. There are also
recreational facilities, including a five-aside football pitch, a
multi-purpose-built court, which can be used for a variety of games, such as
volleyball, long tennis, badminton, and basketball.
“The classrooms and their ancillary
facilities have their dedicated energy source, off grid; they are powered by
solar panels, which guarantee constant power supply to enable teaching and
learning.”
Gov. Sanwo-Olu congratulated all the 620
pupils who were beneficiaries of the state-of-the-art school, adding that
children in public schools deserve the best quality of education to prepare
them as part of a solution provider in the 21st century.
He urged the pupils to take full advantage
of the opportunity to excel in their studies, so as to justify the
intervention.
Gov Sanwo-Olu said that the upgrade of the
model college was part of the strategic interventions initiated in the public
school system, which had led to the rehabilitation and modernisation of over
200 public schools.
According to him, so far, the
administration has constructed more than 800 new classroom blocks and supplied
about 150,000 units of furniture to public schools across all six education
districts of the state.
He said that the intervention had scaled up
output in teaching and raised academic excellence.
“We have also improved security in our
public schools by installing watch towers, perimeter fences, panic bells and
flood lights, and have prioritised the comfort of boarding students through the
provision of beddings and other necessary items.
“As the beneficiaries can attest to, the
welfare and training of teaching and administrative staff in our public school
have received significant attention as well,” Mr Sanwo-Olu said.
He urged administrators, teachers, and
pupils of the model college to take full ownership of the facilities provided
and ensure the infrastructure was maintained.
The state Commissioner for Education,
Folashade Adefisayo, said that the feat was another promise kept by the
governor.
Ms Adefisayo said that the Sanwo-Olu
administration’s education reforms had transformed public schools.
She said that the model college deserved
the gesture, given the academic excellence it had turned out in national
examinations over the last three years.
“This is an iconic building that will last
for ages and transit our children into the 21st century-based knowledge,” she
said.
The entire project was conceived and
delivered by the Special Committee on Rehabilitation of Public Schools (SCRPS)
set up in 2019 by the governor to implement interventions designed to improve
access to basic education.
Giving more details on the structures, the
SCRPS Chairman, Hakeem Smith, said that the containerised structures were
raised on high-density rafts, carefully calculated to hold both live and dead
loads.
Gov Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State interacting with a student of Vetland Junior Grammar School during the inauguration of the school at Agege, on Wednesday
Mr Smith said the floors were made of
terrazzo material for durability, adding that 30 convenience facilities were
fitted in the academic area, while two composite toilets, which were
water-free, were built for visitors and security guards.
He said the school was also rebuilt with a
water system fitted with a filtration compartment to deliver potable water to
the students.
The project was completed with three
laboratories and four staff rooms – all made from containers. There are also
recreational facilities, including a five-a-side football pitch, and a
multi-purpose-built court, which can be used for a variety of games, such as
volleyball, long tennis, badminton, and basketball.
The classrooms and their ancillary
facilities have their dedicated energy source, off grid; they are powered by
solar panels, which guarantee a constant power supply to enable teaching and
learning.
The Chairman of the school’s Parent-Teacher
Association (PTA), Omoyele Akintayo, said that the feat by the state government
would champion a new course of transformation in the country.
Mr Akintayo commended Sanwo-Olu for
listening to the yearnings of the parents to rebuild the school with structures
that had a modern outlook.
“I cannot hide my feelings and emotions
today. I am highly delighted. There is no amount of accolades and encomiums
that can be adequately showered on Sanwo-Olu that will be enough to show our
appreciation for this world-class innovation,” he said.