Some educational items have been donated by Dangote Cement Plc to students and staff of some public schools in Lagos State.
It was gathered that the cement firm gave out 1,000 school bags, 1,000 dozen of 60-leaf notebooks, and 1,000 mathematical sets to students across the schools under Lagos State’s Education District III.
The presentations of the materials were done at the Boys Junior Academy; Girls Junior Academy as well as Ebute Elefun Junior High School, Adeniji Adele Road, Lagos Island and Epetedo Junior High School, Adeniji Adele Road, all in Lagos Island.
Dangote Cement said the gesture was part of its commitment to educational development and community empowerment to foster academic success and societal progress.
“Education is the cornerstone of progress. It opens doors, builds character, and lays the foundation for a brighter future,” the chief executive of Dangote Cement, Mr Arvind Pathak, who was represented by the Group Head of Social Performance, Mr Wakeel Olayiwola, said.
He disclosed that the donations complement previous interventions in 2023 and 2024, which included the provision of solar inverters for computer rooms, school desks, desktop computers, and the renovation of science laboratories and libraries in selected schools.
Mr Pathak acknowledged the challenges faced by many families and schools in providing adequate learning materials saying: “by supporting schools in our neighbouring communities, we are investing not only in the academic success of our children but also in the long-term prosperity of our society.”
“Use them well. Study hard. Dream big and know that you have a community that believes in your potential,” he charged the students.
Principals of four of the schools, including Mrs Bello Afolake of Girls Junior Academy; Sobanke Rafiu of Boys Junior Academy; Mr Kayode Ajala of Ebute-Elefun Junior High School and Mr Taiwo Fatai of Epetedo Junior High School all expressed gratitude to the management of Dangote Cement for the gesture describing the volume of the materials donated to the students as unprecedented.
They all expressed hope that the relationship will last long in task of building the educational capacity of Lagos state and development of the students as the future leaders.