By Junaid Abdullahi
The Old Students Association of Ekiti Baptist High School, Igede-Ekiti has launched an endowment fund of N1 billion for the development of the school.
The National President of the Association, Ifelola Oyebade who spoke during the mega launch of the endowment fund in Igede-Ekiti, at the weekend event organised by the EBHSOSA, Ekiti & Ondo states chapters, commended the state government efforts at revitalizing standard of education in the state however, said the infrastructural decadence in the school was the reason for the endowment fund.
Giving his thoughts on the association’s endowment fund, Oyebade said, “The richest university in the world, Harvard University uses an endowment fund to keep the institution going. It worth about 202 billion dollars in terms of an endowment fund, which makes it the richest university in the whole world. And most of the universities in the developed country use endowment funds to fund their institutions.
“It is not just about government, that is what they use. So, schools could be adequately funded through endowment funds. We started by documenting the state of infrastructure at the school and we are working to bring our people to align with us. Our membership had grown from 197 to over 500 since May 2021 when I took over as the president.”
He backed the state government on the return of missionary schools to their original owners, saying such would ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of the various schools.
The retired lecturer at the Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, said, “The school is now 68-year-old, having been established in 1956. It is a known fact that inadequate funding of secondary schools has been a serious problem since its take over by the state government in 1976, this our resort to alternative sustainable means of generating funds to improve the dilapidated/decaying infrastructures and introduce legacy projects to ensure the continued existence as well as a competitive secondary school in the state and in Nigeria.”
The President who highlighted various achievements of the association in terms of renovations and donations noted that some of the classrooms, dining hall and others, hence the endowment fund.
Another alumni, Professor David Oluwatoba Alabi of the Nigeria Defense Academy, Kaduna who was the keynote speaker at the event spoke on the importance of the alumni association to the society.
The professor of political science and defence studies added, “It is just to give back to the school. Most of us here are old students of the school. So it is an opportunity for us to give back to our school that has done so much in our lives. It is also to be part of the mega launch of the endowment fund so that we will be able to address some infrastructural and academic challenges in the school.”
The Chairman, Mega Launch/ Endowment Fund Committee, Dr Oludare Bello, expressed the readiness of the association to take over the running of the school saying the government can’t do it all alone.
“We all passed through this school and the school was in a pretty state at the time we were here but it is now a shadow of its old self. We did our best to put in over 70 million naira but that is still not enough. So it is now for us to invite our friends, well-wishers and try to use our goodwill to make sure that they come over to Macedonia to help us,” he said.
In his address, the Owa Ajero of Ijero Kingdom, Oba Adebayo Adewole who is one of the 1970 alumni set of the school lamented that the school is facing several infrastructural challenges.
The monarch who is also the Chairman of the occasion urged members to give back and help rebuild the school which was described as their Jerusalem.
