Rotary club registers 15 female students for external exams in Taraba
Jethro Yerga, Jalingo
The Rotary club of Jalingo City Taraba State, has cleared the registration fee of 15 female students of Jauro Masha Government Secondary School Jalingo, to enable them seat for the 2023 National Examinations Council’s (NECO) final examinations.
At a symposium organized by the Rotary Club to join other countries of the world in commemorating International Day of the Girl Child with the theme, “The time is now”, held at Science Secondary School Jalingo, the club presented a cheque of whooping sum of 450, 000 thousand naira to the school management for onward registration of the students in the 2023 NECO examinations.
Speaking while Presenting the cheque to the school management, the President of the Club, Rotarian Sylvester Danjuma said the gesture was born out of the desire of the club to intervene in various plights of a girl Child, especially in the Northern part of the country where she is not valued much as compared to her male counterpart.
The president lamented that his club had previously been to the beneficiary school, where they learnt that most of the girls were fizzled out for non-payment of just three thousand naira for their Junior WAEC Examinations.
Danjuma pointed out that the the last time they went to the school, less than fifteen students were found in the SS 3 class as against the twenty that were first captured in the same class at the first time they visited the school just on account of non payment of some fees, hence their intervention.
He appealed to the beneficiary school management to do a thorough check and find out the less privileged female students of the school, especially orphans who can not register on they own and give them the opportunity.
Receiving the offer on behalf of the school management and the students, the Principal of the school, Mrs Cicilia Micah Madaki applauded the Rotary Club of Jalingo City for the various empowerment programs they had earlier executed in the school, describing the registration of the 15 female students as one of the wonderful projects of the Club in the school that would never be forgotten.
The Principal who said some of the students wouldn’t have been able to register for the final examinations if not the intervention of the club, assured that the school management would do a thorough job and register only the less privilege students who will not be able to pay for the final registrations.
She challenged the students to reciprocate the kind gesture of the club by studying hard to pass their examinations with good results, even as she prayed God to bless members of the club abundantly.
While interacting with journalists shortly after the occasion, the zonal representative of the club for Girl Child Initiatives and empowerment, Zone four, representing Adamawa, Taraba and Gombe State, Rotarian change maker president Olabisi Sani Alaba, said the gesture was part of the club’s intervention to empower the female folks to enable them take charge of their responsibilities in the society alongside their male folks.
Alaba who noted that the gestures was a pilot project, also expressed the determination of the club to continue to intervene in other areas where the girl child needs urgent attention, adding that they would continue to move round the schools in Jalingo City to identify spots where they would take their interventions.
“We arrived at the decision to choose this School as the beneficiary of this very pilot project because, we had been in the school previously and we discovered that the the population of the female folks was decreasing at any time we visited the school. When we seek to know the reason, we were told that the students could not afford their school fees and other payments.
“That is why we decided to intervene to help the few among the remaining ones to enable them continue with their studies.
“We may extend this gesture. Our projects never ends. Even before the end of this month, it is possible we may be charged to do another project.
“We walk as people that have humanity at heart when it comes to serving humanity. We don’t wait for a specific time or year routine but attend to issues as they come base on our ability”. She stated.
Rotarian Alaba appreciated the leadership of the beneficiary school for their uprightness and fairness in the discharge of their duties and expressed confidence that they would chanel the money appropriately.
She further called on the students to take their studies seriously, seat up and grab their future so that their efforts would not be in vain.
Earlier, the resource persons who interacted with the students at the symposium, challenged them to wake up and Utilize their opportunities effectively to achieve their desired dreams.
Mrs. Abiola Aderibigbe, the Vice Principal, Jauro Masha Government Day Secondary School Jalingo, who spoke extensively on “the right time to take the future”, encouraged the female students to set their goals and clearly define them now, insisting that one must know where she is going and what is involved to get her there before she would arrived at her desired destination successfully.
She advised the students to always esterblished a network of friends to enable them work collectively towards solving their, social, societal and academic day to day challenges of life.
Similarly, Mrs Lasutu Andeley, a lecturer from the Department of Political Science, Federal University (FUW) Wukari, examined a world where girls could defend themselves.
She charged the female students not to just take anything that comes their way but to always ask questions about every opportunity that comes to ascertain the authenticity and effectiveness of such opportunity even as she encouraged them to shun the negative perceptions of men on a girl child and work tenaciously towards realizing their desired dreams.
In a closing remark, Deaconess Atuanya Vic. of Science Secondary School Jalingo, applauded the Rotary Club of Jalingo City for its show of love and appealed that the wonderful gesture should be extended to her School as well.
She encouraged the female students to discipline themselves as they hold unto God at all times, adding that success await who ever submit herself to the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
Meanwhile, the occasion also witnessed the inauguration of Girls Club of Science Secondary School Jalingo, with Salamatu Adamu of SS 2, Elizabeth Ayomide Otitoju of SS 3 and Queen A. Tanko of JSS 3 as the pioneer leaders.
