Following the move by the Lagos State government to increase public school boarding fees from N35,000 to N100,000 per term, a non-governmental organisation, Jeremiah and Felicia Aderoju Foundation, JFA, yesterday, faulted the move, saying this is not the right time to make such a decision.
The NGO said due to the current economic hardship, many homes would be unable to afford the new fee and urged well-meaning Nigerians to help the less-privileged to enable them to continue their education.
Director and Coordinator of JFA in Nigeria, Mr Jacob Akintola, warned that if assistance was not rendered, many young students could either venture into fraud or become miscreants with which society would have to battle.
Speaking at a one-day workshop on technical training, skill acquisition and donation of 60-leaf notebooks to senior secondary school students at Education District V in Lagos, Akintola said: "This is not something that is supposed to be done at this time, but here is where we find ourselves in the country. We have a lot of people that are so rich. If they can just imbibe this kind of thing that we are doing, this will encourage even the students."
On what informed the programme, the JFA boss said: "We are committed to addressing developmental deficits among the less privileged in society," he said, adding that the foundation has been a beacon of hope, providing vital support and resources to those who need it most, and believes that the students must engage in technical skills training to secure the future of Nigerian youth right from secondary school."
"Even in the olden days, you had to acquire certain skills immediately after you finished your elementary school, secondary school, or high school. For you to seek job opportunities, if you have acquired a skill, you can be able to embark on the job. So, JFA is bringing the practical aspect of what the students have been taught, making it a skill acquisition programme."
The founder of the JFA Foundation, Mrs. Elizabeth Olagunju, who spoke through a recorded video during the seminar, said that the programme represented another opportunity to serve humanity in Lagos, a city she described as a melting pot where people from all nations aspire to live.
