The Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education Mr. Bolaji Abayomi said the vision of the Estate Grammar School Old Students Association (EGSOSA) is perfectly in line with the education policy of the Lagos State Government.
The Permanent Secretary stated this at the celebration of the 40th Founders Day of the School with the theme: “Celebrating the Past and Igniting the Future Towards Greater Heights: Building a Sustaining Future”, held recently at the School Premises, Ilupeju, Lagos.
Abayomi, who was represented by the Director, Basic Education Services of the Ministry, Mr. Adeyemi Adebayo, said the Ministry‘s vision is to be a model of excellence by providing the best free education for children while also leaving no child behind, among others.
“Our shared vision is not just about physical transformation. It’s about fostering an environment that encourages curiosity, nurtures creativity, and instils a lifelong love for learning. It’s about ensuring that every student who walks through our doors is equipped with the skills and knowledge they need to navigate the world confidently”, the Permanent Secretary said.
Estate Grammar School, he said, has been a beacon of knowledge and wisdom, shaping the minds of countless students who have walked its corridors as the old students are not just reminiscing, but also looking forward to a future filled with promise and potential.
“We envision a school where every student feels valued and heard, where diversity is celebrated, and where everyone has equal access to opportunities. We dream of a school that is not just a place for learning, but also a community that supports and uplifts each other”, he said.
The Permanent Secretary, therefore, enjoined the Old Students Association to key into the vision of stakeholders’ involvement in school management as transforming a school is not an easy task. It requires commitment, dedication, and most importantly, collaboration as each and everyone whether alumnus, a teacher, or a student has a role to play in the transformation process.
In his goodwill message, the Executive Chairman, Odi Olowo-Ojuwoye Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Hon. Rasaq Ajala congratulated the Estate Grammar School Old Students Association for celebrating 40 years of Founders’ Day of the School.
He thanks the people of Odi Olowo-Ojuwoye for giving him the mandate as the Chairman of the Council to carry on the people’s oriented programme and project. The Chairman promised to identify with the old students associations’ various programmes and projects and will continue to support qualitative and functional education at the local government level in the state.
In his address, the National President, Estate Grammar School Old Students Association (EGSOSA), Mr. Oluwashina Gbenjo said the old students association is a reunion of souls, to recount the good old days of brotherly and sisterly unconditional love and celebrate the wrinkles, and baldness and the grey hairs that marked the mileage.
Old student association, he said, is a place to recall history with jokes, smiles and prayers for those that have departed earlier and childhood memories are the priceless treasures of alma mater as school life was their raw and innocent stage in life before they became processed and possessed.
Earlier, in his welcome speech, the Principal, Estate Senior Grammar School, Mr. Joseph Egunyomi said the celebration is a weeklong activity that began on the 17th of September, 2023 with a church programme, career talk, medical outreach for the students and teachers, visit to orphanages, novelty match between the students of the school and old students association, Jumat service and the grand finally on the 23rd September, 2023.
Saluting the old students association for their resilience, industry, hard work and never-say-die attitude towards their alma mater, Egunyomi averred that the association has been able to renovate the ICT room of the school, given awards to the students and teachers in both Junior and Senior Grammar School, provided sick bay and presently working on a plan to build a befitting hall for the school.
