Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State on Thursday gave bicycles to 120 students donated by Guaranty Trust Bank (GT) to four secondary schools in the state, to ease transportation for students.
The scheme was launched at the Government Day Secondary School, (GDSS) Takatuku in Bodinga Local Government Area, Tambuwal urged other institutions to emulate GT’s gesture.
He said the interventions comprised exercise books and teaching aid and the benefiting schools were located at Silame, Takatuku, Ummaruma and Tambuwal secondary schools, noting that the gesture would no doubt enhance students’ interest in education.
The governor assured commitment to development of education, stressing that such gestures were welcome, to complement government’ efforts.
He urged organisations enjoying government patronage to support government in whatever form for the benefit of the state, as part of their Social Corporate Responsibility (CSR).
Tambuwal advised parents and guardians of the beneficiaries to guide them on how best to utilise the rare window of opportunity and privilege initiated by GTBank.
Earlier, the GTBank Divisional Head North-West, Mr Ahmed Liman, said the programme was under the bank’s rural empowerment scheme and Sokoto joined the list of the first states to benefit from the initiative in the nation.
Liman expressed hope that through the gift, more children would be able to travel to their schools as well as beat the cycle of poverty.
He said the bank was always on top of its CSR, to showcase it’s commitment to the development of humanity especially those core areas as education, infrastructure, poverty reduction among other primary concerns of the public.
He commended Tambuwal for his commitment to moving the state forword and looked forward to other opportunities of partnering with the State Government for the benefit of the people.
Liman said it was imperative for private organisations to extend support to government to shape a quality, effective and efficient education system that would promote excellence through intervention initiatives.
” We want to build a future where no Nigerian child is absent or drops out of school due to the barrier of distance. The scheme is in stages, from Enugu to Taraba and from Sokoto to Ondo and across Nigeria.
” The essence is for GTBank to bridge the gap between children and their education. It is a chance to not only beat distance but poverty too,” Liman said.
The Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Alhaji Abubakar Guiwa, thanked GT Bank for it’s intervention in the development of education in the state and urged other organizations to emulate the kind gesture.
Guiwa said the beneficiaries were selected from across communities based on barriers of distance and records of late coming to the school.
Speaking on behalf of beneficiaries, the school principal of GDSS Takayuki, Malam Bello Tshoho, expressed appreciation for the gesture and assured that it would improve the performance of student.(NAN)
