Former Imo State Governor, Senator Rochas Okorocha, says government alone cannot fix the challenges of education.
Okorocha, who stated this at an event organised by Rochas Foundation to celebrate the International Day of the Girl-Child in Abuja, on Friday, suggested that wealthy men, housewives and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members should freely contribute their resources to educate 70 per cent of girls out of the 13 million that are out-of-school children.
He said education is no longer a privilege, but a right of every child, advising government to initiate volunteerism “because it’s the way to salvage the system”.
While noting that an effective and efficient volunteer system would provide a platform for individuals to offer free tutorial services to children in basic and secondary schools, and even beyond, he also supported the campaign for the increased use of mother-tongue for teaching and learning in basic education system, stressing that such measures have proven to be more effective and allowed children have better understanding of whatever is being taught.
He said: “Fluency in English language should not be a yardstick for intelligence. At Rochas Foundation College of Africa, we have thousands of students from 22 African countries who are acquiring quality education at our different educational facilities. So far, over 40,000 students from several African countries have passed through our schools. That’s a massive achievement that could lead to liberation and empowerment.”
Speaking, former Sierra Leone President, Ernest Bai Koroma, congratulated the female students on the 2024 International Day of the Girl-Child, encouraging them to boldly take up the task of reshaping their world through innovations.
He said: “I never knew that lots of Children from different African countries are studying in Rochas Foundation Colleges. This is a kind gesture that will assist in liberating Africa, thus strengthening its unity and place in comity of developed nations.”
He thus challenged the children to leverage the available opportunity to acquire education, exchange ideas and practices, and most importantly, network with fellow students from other countries so that they collectively, work for the good of the continent.
He said: “As you celebrate the International Day of the Girl Child, challenge yourselves to be agents of positive changes in Africa.”
Director-General, Rochas Foundation, Uchechi Rochas, said the Foundation has taken it upon itself to celebrate the International Day of the Girl Child, because of the importance it attached to women empowerment.
She promised that Rochas Foundation would continue to champion any cause that will strengthen the voice of women, thus giving them their rightful place in the society.
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