LSUBEB Celebrates Children through Symbolic Registration into Schools

By Funmi Ogundare

The Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (LSUBEB), recently commemorated the 2021 Children’s Day celebration with a symbolic registration of nursery and primary one pupils into public schools.

The theme of the celebration was ‘Unite to Reverse the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Children’.

In his remarks, the Chairman of the board, Mr. Wahab Alawiye-King said the initiative was part of its tradition to register pupils at the beginning of the session, adding that it is free.
According to him,”we have been doing it in the past and it has become a custom for us to do it again. All parents need to do is to go and register their children. It is free.”

Speaking on the theme of the celebration, he affirmed that it was apt, as government is making effort to ensure that the children are supported and to reverse the impact of COVID-19 by bridging the learning loss.

“The government is very much concerned about the children’s psychological, educational, social and emotional wellbeing. The government is doing everything possible to ensure that we bridge the learning loss. And in order to achieve that, we must continue to empower our teachers through distribution of materials that enhance learning.”

In her remarks, the state Commisioner for Education, Mrs. Folashade Adefisayo said in order to recover the learning lost during the period of COVID, with the EkoExcel initiative, the students were all given MP3 players and the teachers were encouraged to work even beyond the normal call of duty.

“During the period, we had the telephone links especially for the secondary school children, so if they had any problem, they could call the numbers they could. The supply of devices to the students and tablets to the teachers is just to ensure that learning keeps going.”

A parent, Mrs. Sarah Michelle who came to register one of her children going from kindergarten to primary at Ikeja Central Primary School, expressed excitement about government’s efforts on the pupils, saying that the academics of some of her neighbour’s children has improved as a result.