By Itohan Abara-Laserian
German Government has donated a solar powered port cabin to Meiran Community Senior High School, Lagos, for providing technological solutions to solve problems.
The cabin was donated on Thursday in Lagos by the German Agency for International Corporation through its Pro-Poor Growth and Promotion of Employment in Nigeria(GIZ-SEDIN) programme.
The Component Lead of GIZ-SEDIN, Oladoyin Olawoye, said that the school emerged first among 15 other schools in the agency’s SEA-HUB competition held in October 2022.
Olawoye said that the school presented products produced through innovative technological solution, with little or no capital.
According to her, SEA-HUB club engages secondary school students in activities that are predominantly entrepreneurship.
“It’s to enable the students run a mini business; to have an innovative mindset for solving problems within their local community.
“The idea is to catch them young so that when they leave school, they are better trained, experienced, being able to provide jobs and employment to job seekers.
“So, the idea is really to have an avenue for young students to find a path when they leave school.
“Meiran school was really impressive. Not only did they showcase multiple products; the school showcased innovative solutions, the students used innovative technology to solve problems, they have a remote controlled robot mopping machine.
“They also have a reusable, washable sanitary pad for the girls, and this is something that is really burdensome for young girls and their parents, to help afford sanitary pads for the lady,” she said.
Olawoye said the agency loved the social aspect; the innovative aspects that the students came up with, they made phone stands from PVC pipes, so it was really innovative thinking.
“We challenge them at SEA-HUB to start a business with little or no capital and once they start that business, once they make profit, they reinvest the profits and create other products,” she said.
According to Olawoye, with the donation of the lab cabin, the agency is expecting the students to come up with more innovative products and be employers of labour once they leave school.
Mr Abayomi Abolaji, Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Education, said that the creative minds of the students had earned them the lab cabin.
Abolaji described the donation as a giant stride because the state government was particular about Public Private Partnerships (PPP), hence the need to engage more of such partnerships to develop the sector.
“One of the essence of education is to create humans, students that will have creative minds and ingenuity. So, what the students have demonstrated, has translated into GIZ giving them this cabin, so that they will be able to think more creatively and this will bring out the best in them.
“When we say children are future leaders, we are not thinking of the distant future, we are thinking of now. So, if they are to be our future leaders, we should be able to begin to instill those leadership qualities and skills into them.
“One of the strong points of this administration is to embrace private partnerships to ensure that we have more corporate organisations, individuals come in to contribute to the development of the state and of course education, particularly,” Abolaji said.
The permanent secretary commended the German Government for donating the cabin.
Mrs Omotayo Oshunaike, Principal of the school, said that the donation was an evidence of emphasis on cognitive learning.
She said: “The government has successfully exploited the three domains of learning, the cognitive, the affective, the psychomotor.
“Every child has a place in the curriculum. So children are being taught enterprenuership skills, risk taking, critical thinking and basic skills to start-off a business.
“So, I want to sincerely appreciate the SEA-HUB team for this innovation. I want to promise that we will not let them down.”
Sunday Okwuebulem, Managing Director, SEA-HUB Club of the school, appreciated GIZ-SEDIN for giving the students the platform and opportunity to showcase their innate talents.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that present at the event, were directors in the state Ministry of Education, teachers, students and top officials of GIZ-SEDIN.
