All roads lead to Ilesa, Osun State, on Friday, where some students of Ilesa Grammar School, ILEGRAMS, one of the oldest Ionian schools in Nigeria, are set to gift the institution with a state-of-the-art and well-equipped computer laboratory.
The event is part of activities lined up for the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the graduation of the old students of the famous school who entered in January 1970 and completed their West African School Certificate Examinations in June 1974.
The set cooperates and collaborates under a duly registered association referred to as Ilesa Grammar School Old Students’ Association, 1970-74 Set, a.k.a CLUB ‘74, with Chief Shola Oshunkeye, a Fellow of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, FNGE, and former Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of The Sun Publishing Ghana Limited, as President.
Tomorrow’s launch of the Computer Laboratory was revealed in a press statement, issued Thursday, by Prof. Abel Idowu Olayinka, the immediate past Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, who is the Chairman of the Organising Committee of the Golden Jubilee celebration.
Ahead of the launch, CLUB 74 has delivered 25 units of brand new desktop computers with full accessories, a fast speed modem for internet access, as well as a diesel electricity generating set to power the tastefully furnished laboratory.
This, according to Olayinka, is the first phase of the project as the ultimate goal is to provide 200 units of computers that would engage as many students as possible at the same time and space.
The laboratory, Olayinka, a Professor of Geophysics, further posited, would be well structured for Information and Communication Training (ICT) primarily for Ilesa Grammar School students but would also accommodate schools in Ilesa seeking such service.
“Our intention is that the facilities we are providing now will be a seed for something much bigger in the coming years,” Olayinka said. “A major deliverable is for this facility to be the nucleus for a Computer Based Test (CBT) Centre for ILEGRAMS and other schools in the Ilesa area as well as for External Examinations.
“It is envisaged that with further funding support from us, the National body of ILEGRAMS OLD STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION and our friends, this Centre will, with time, be self-sustaining as well as provide funds to support our School, ILEGRAMS, itself.”
During the Golden Anniversary celebration, Olayinka also informed, CLUB 74 will honour two of their former teachers. The teachers, in addition to a cash reward, will be formally presented with Certificate of Excellence “in partial acknowledgment of the contributions made by all our illustrious teachers during our stint from 1970 to 1974 at ILEGRAMS.”
These are: Mrs. Modupe Esan, English teacher, and Sir Johnson Bolatito Akintayo, KJW, Biology teacher.
“We wish them everlasting bliss in the land of the living and also use them as points of contacts to our other teachers,” Olayinka said. “We pray for the repose of the souls of those our teachers who have since departed to be with the Lord.”
CLUB 74 was formally established in Ibadan in December 2016. The two major aims of CLUB 74 are to provide a veritable platform for members to network and provide support to their alma mater.
Ever since its formation, the Club has made a number of interventions at Ilesa Grammar School including but not limited to payment of WAEC fees for a number of students of the school as well as providing solar power for the administrative block of the senior school complex.
It is now exactly 50 years that members of CLUB 74 left Ilesa Grammar School. As part of the celebration of this landmark, CLUB 74 decided to deliver a major legacy project, Computer Laboratory, to their alma mater. The seed money for the project was provided by members.
And to ensure that the facility is used strictly for the purpose it was established, CLUB 74 has mandated their Legal Adviser, Chief Mrs. Victoria Funmilayo Awomolo, SAN, to develop a Memorandum of Understanding between CLUB 74 and the Management of Ilesa Grammar School, as soon as possible.
