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It was excitement and praise galore as the Ogun State Government on Wednesday flagged off the payment of N10,000 cash award to 100,000 primary and secondary school learners in the over 2, 000 public schools across the four divisions of the state.
The payment is in fulfilment of the promise made by the Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, to pay N10,000 to indigent pupils and students in the state's primary and secondary schools.
Speaking while monitoring the disbursement of the money in some schools in Abeokuta, Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu noted that the payment was one of the strategies used by the governor to provide succour to parents as a result of the present economic situation in the country.
Prof. Arigbabu noted that the gesture was meant to provide succour to pupils and their parents.
He said: "In view of the economic realities in the country, the governor decided to provide succour to the people of the state using multiplicity approaches to achieve this.
"He believes that another strategy that could be used which has never been used by any government before is the health and education sectors to reach the populace. Through the education sector, you can truly reach out to those who need the palliative.
"We have over 2, 000 primary and secondary schools in all the four divisions of the state, and 100,000 learners in these schools would receive N10,00 each."
He emphasized that the government decided to pay through parents whose children are in public primary and secondary schools as the children do not have bank accounts due to their age.
"As we meet and give the parents the governor's message, they are receiving the alert for payment. The governor's gesture is to support the parents in meeting their children's needs," he added.
On how the children were chosen, the commissioner maintained that the process was objective, adding that it was easy to come up with the list of indigent students as teachers who are part of the school system were given the burden to find the indigent students as they are the closest to them.
"That is why we have not involved anybody who is not in the school system. The school system is not political. Civil servants are not supposed to be politicians, so the principals and the teachers have selected these children based on the fact that they have always seen them to be indigent students.
"How do they know them? These are children without shoes, some of them have torn uniforms, some don't have enough exercise books, and some can't even buy textbooks. There are a number of things they would have seen, some of them, it is these teachers that will be contributing money to the support system.
"I can assure you that the children we have chosen are children that are indigent. To confirm that for you, a parent came to me, she said that her child in this school was chosen, but she has another child in another school that was not chosen. That is telling you that indigency is relative," he said.
He disclosed that 50,000 students of Ogun State origin in both public and private tertiary institutions have been captured to be paid N50,000 each.
The payment, he said, has started with about 20,000 students to be covered by the end of the week.
"In the tertiary level, we are giving out N50,000 to each student. We have captured 50,000 students from all the tertiary institutions whose details have been submitted to us after we wrote to the Vice Chancellors, Rectors and Provosts.
"We are paying directly to the students to ensure that the money get to them. We started payment last week, and we have paid over 10,000 students, and before the end of this week, we would have paid 20,000, "the commissioner assured.
Prof. Arigbabu also revealed that five exercise books would be given to 850,000 primary and secondary school learners, including those who did not benefit from the N10,000, adding that the governor was also preparing another package for the education sector.
Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Mrs. Ronke Soyombo, who also monitor the disbursement exercise, opined that money would make a difference in the lives of those who really need it, noting that those who have received their alert have promised to make judicious use of it.
Speaking in an interview, the Principal, Baptist Boys High School (Junior), Lasabi Olarenwaju, noted that some of the beneficiaries were chosen based on the inability of their parents to cater for their basic needs,adding that the gesture by Governor Dapo Abiodun would go a long way in helping the beneficiaries.
Mrs. Odutayo Titilope, Principal, Senior School, Lisabi Grammar School, Idia-Aba, said 120 students were registered to benefit from the cash award.
Alhaji AbdulRahaman, a parent whose child is in African Church Grammar School, appreciated the governor for the gesture, saying it would go a long way in meeting the needs of his child, while Mrs Funmi Alaka, a widow, appreciated Governor Abiodun for the kind gesture, saying the cash award would help her in getting some of the things needed by her daughter.
Zainab Babatunji and Abosede Ashamu, whose wards attend Holy Prophets Primary School, said though they initially had doubt about the workability of the cash award, the fact that they have received the money is a testimony that it is not fake and the governor has the interest of the people at heart.
Iyabo Kushimo, whose child attends Ebenezer Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Saje, Abeokuta, also confirmed the receipt of the N10,000 cash award, saying she would use the money to buy school sandals and use the other part to pay her child's transport fare.
Other schools visited by the Commissioner included, Abeokuta Grammar School, African Church Grammar School, Baptist Boys High School, Saje, Saje High School, Ebenezer Grammar School, Unity High School, Lisabi Grammar School, Idia-Aba, Ebenezer Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Saje, Holy Prophets Primary School, Adedotun, and Agunbiade Victory High School, Magbon, all in Abeokuta.
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