…As It Trains 73 Schools in Livestock, Snailery, Crop Farming
In its effort towards sport development from early stages, Government of Oyo State is promoting the extracurricular activity , amongst school pupils to dominate sporting events at National level.
This was contained in a statement by Media Team, Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board, OSUBEB.
Its Co-ordinating Director, Mr. Jacob Dairo, who made this known at the distribution of sporting equipment donated by Oyo State Government, in collaboration with Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, to 82 primary Schools held at the Board’s headquarters, on Tuesday, said that the board is not only poised to restore the leading position by the state in primary sporting activities, but to take school sports to an enviable height in Nigeria.
He revealed that benefitting schools got sporting equipment such as Handball goalposts and net, skipping ropes, table-tennis bats and nets, handballs, Badminton rackets and other equipment distributed to schools in the 3 Senatorial districts in the State.
The head of Board of Schools Services Department, said the board got delivery of sporting items courtesy, Governor Seyi Makinde and that the essence of the occasion was to officially flag-off the distribution of the items to the various beneficiary schools in the state.
Dairo also noted that the state government intends to catch them young with the facilities, adding that the items will enable pupils to participate actively in sports.
According to him, Oyo State Government will organise a sporting competition among schools at local and Zonal levels, while the overall winner will represent the State in National competitions.
He therefore, charged the beneficiary schools to take care of the items delivered to them, urging them to make proper use of the equipment for the purpose for which it is meant, adding that, earlier, the state government approved the commencement of Agricultural Education Training Programme for 73 primary schools.
The director further said the programme will train Education Secretaries, Head of Section, schools services of each local government, Head teachers, Agricultural studies teachers, and School Based Management Committee, SBMC, representatives from different local governments.
He then reiterated that the Oyo State Government has approved funding of the Agricultural training programme, in the 33 Local Governments in the state, as the trainees will in turn, train pupils on crop farming, snailery, and livestock farming while a monitoring team will go round the schools to ensure that funds allocated for the training programme are properly utilized.
Earlier, Chairman, Nigeria Union of Teachers, Oyo State Chapter, Com. Raji Oladimeji applauded the initiatives put in place by the Oyo State Government for pupils.
He said sporting activities, which are almost moribund in most schools, is due to the topography of land in most schools.
He then explained that the development will resuscitate the almost-moribund sporting activities in most public primary Schools.
Also, the Chairman, Association of Primary School Headteachers of Nigeria, AOPSHON, Oyo State branch, Comrade Adedeji Adekunle appealed to the trainees to pay full attention to the teachings.
He also applauded Governor Makinde for his unwavering support to wholesome basic education in the State, saying the Agricultural training programme will put basic education in the State on a leading path, among its contemporaries.
Also, Zonal chairman, School-Based Management Committee, SMBC, Egbeda Local Government Area, Deacon Adegbite Omoniyi, said the Agricultural training will encourage younger ones to participate in Agriculture.
He said the SBMC and other stakeholders are committed to the new project, which will accelerate agricultural development in schools.
End.
