New Era Girls old students to commission N32m alumni building

To give back to their alma mater, improve academic performance and moral standing of students, the New Era Girls Secondary School, Surulere, Lagos, alumni association (NEGSSLA-A), has constructed a N32million self-funded building and set to hand it over to the school management at its official commissioning on December 7.

Speaking at a press briefing to announce the commissioning, President of the association, Tamra Runsewe-Abiodun, said they decided to construct the building after some disturbing reports and interaction with students showed that there is need to provide such a facility to offer counselling services to students.

Runsewe-Abiodun said the outcome indicated that 70 per cent of their girls were undergoing one form of sexual abuse or the other, while 90 per cent in junior class were not properly educated about their monthly circle.

“In addition, a career guidance counselling organised by the association, revealed that majority of the students need help with career choices and even subject combinations for degree programmes. We identified these gaps in spite of the fact that government has a teacher to teach guidance and counseling. She had no room of her own where she could privately talk to the girls,” she said.

Runsewe-Abiodun said the students have been taking part in Robotics competition in Lagos State and across the country, but do not have subject teachers for courses that will allow them do engineering or environmental science courses.

Armed with these details, she said the association sought solutions and one of the measures arrived at was the building construction.

The group also decided to improve on the school’s ambience through landscaping, by providing interlocking pavement stones, green areas and planting of flowers.

She said the building would be dedicated to further development of staff and students of to promote academic excellence and morals.

Runsewe-Abiodun expressed hope that the state government and other non-governmental organisations would partner with the association to get teachers in technical subjects for the school.

The group also seeks to appoint ad hoc counsellors/volunteers in career guidance, sexual and sexuality matters.