Empowers over 2,000 secondary school students to succeed in exams

A non-Profit organisation, Girls in Charge (GIC) Foundation, which focuses on the empowerment of young girls and women from different backgrounds, yesterday, held its second edition of the “Empowered to Succeed” programme.

The programme, which had in attendance over 2,000 final year students from several state-owned secondary schools in Lagos State, had different interactive sessions where the students were mentored on necessary steps that would aid their success in the final secondary school examinations and also speed up the entry of some them into higher institutions.

Founder of GIC Foundation, Victory Oyakhilome, said that the programme, which was introduced last year, was established to guide and give financial support to the younger generation, as well as mentoring them to focus on their dreams and thrive into being better persons.

Oyakhilome stated that the programme is not limited to the girl-child only, as the male children are also included, noting that the goal is to see all of them succeed.

“The brain behind this programme is to reach out to SS3 students that are preparing for university admission as we found out most of them do not know how to go about the examinations like the National Examinations Council (NECO), Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and so on. Our major aim is to see them succeed by giving them the right guidance as some of those who we mentored and gave out free JAMB scholarships last year did excellently well and made us proud.

“We have brought the JAMB, NECO, WAEC and National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB) officials to talk about what they are doing and how they can prepare for these examinations. In the long run, we are confident that these will be super helpful to the students,” she said.

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by the Acting Executive Secretary of Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, Feyisayo Alayande, said that the commitment of the Foundation proves that the youths play a vital role in shaping the future of the nation.

The governor, while commending the founder for her hard work, noted that the theme of the event aligns with the state’s vision of innovation, inclusion and youth empowerment through the numerous opportunities available in the state.

He urged the students to utilise every opportunity available to them in the state and also leverage on their network and community. Besides, he tasked the students to always speak up whenever they have a challenge, seek direction and mentorship and equip themselves with adequate digital and vocational training.