First Bank Donates 20,000 Mobile Devices to Lagos Students

Funmi Ogundare

First Bank PLC recently presented a total of 20,000 mobile devices to Lagos State government as part of efforts to enhance continuous learning among public school students.
The initiative was in line with the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu education transformation plan of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) collaborative approach.

The governor, who received the items during an official presentation and handover ceremony at Lagos House, Marina, thanked the management and board of the bank, saying that the gesture is in line with the education and technology vision of his administration.
He said in achieving quality education and learning outcomes in schools, technology is essential and plays a crucial role for the 21st century education.

“I commend First Bank for supporting the Lagos State government in actualising a vision the state had even before the herald of the COVID-19 pandemic. Everybody has a role to play in actualising the vision and mission of the government,” he said.
Sanwo-Olu said the bank is contributing to the lives of many students who will eventually become future leaders and hope for a greater future, adding that the move will go a long way in assisting most of the underprivileged students who cannot afford a device to enhance their learning process.

He appealed to the Tutor Generals/ Permanent Secretaries of the six educational districts and Education Quality Assurance team to ensure that students use the mobile devices judiciously to improve learning, adding that he expects more distinctions and improvement in their academics.

He promised that the state government will get additional ones and solicited the support of other stakeholders to partner the state in providing more gadgets to aid education reforms. He said his administration is committed to ensuring that no child is left behind.

The Managing Director, First Bank Plc, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan stated that the e-learning devices were the focus of the bank to ensure that academics continue irrespective of the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that the future of the children must not be affected.

He commended the governor for his resilience and passion towards fighting the pandemic, adding that banking is not all about making profits, but supporting economic growth, which is why the bank is partnering the state government in actualising its vision through the THEMES agenda.

In her remarks, the Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Folasade Adefisayo disclosed that other private organisations have shown interest to join in the revitalization process of the education sector through the BOS Education Tranformation Plan to support the actualisation of the one million devices targeted by the state government.
“This is a major milestone in our journey to provide quality online education for students in Lagos State,” she said.