By Dayo Johnson Akure

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‎The Alumni Association of Ahmadiyya Grammar School, Ogbagi Akoko, Ondo State, is set to raise N500 million to revamp the school and restore its academic excellence.

Addressing newsmen in Akure, to herald the 50th anniversary of the school, the Vice President of the Alumni Association, Surajudeen Abdusalam-Alada, said that the fund reflects their commitment to enhancing education and providing a model for collaboration between private citizens and the government.

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‎Abdusalam-Alada, said that notable members were in support of the initiative including the current Minister of Interior, Bunmi Tunji-Ojo.

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‎According to him ” the N500 million fund will be directed toward several high impact projects, including the construction of a modern ICT centre, which will be fully equipped to provide students with access to global learning.

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‎”The N500 million may sound like big money, I know some of our other schools who are marking their 50th are putting the bar at N100 million, but we are ambitious in our school.

” Faith and hard work is actually our motto. We believe in faith and hard work. And we believe that working hard, we’ll be able to raise such money.

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‎”We’re expecting alumni members and friends of the alumni of the school to come to our aid. And the good news is that as we prepare for this anniversary, funds have been coming in from these people, with the aim of reaching our target.

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‎”If we must mention it, the chief launcher for the day will be the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Matrix Energy Nigeria, Alhaji Aliu Abdulkabir. And we also expect that the Honorable Minister of Interior will be the chair of the day.

“Quite a number of notable members of the public are expected to donate generously for our cause. We also expect government to chip in.

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‎”To answer what this money will be deployed for, we are working on the construction of an ICT centre to be supported by notable men in society, including members of the National Assembly from that area. We intend to have the ICT centre fully built and equipped.

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‎”Then we intend to complete the boys’ hostel, we want to bring back boarding school. We also intend to assist government in renovating the block of classrooms built under the late Dr. Agagu’s regime.

“We want to modernize and digitize the library. We want to change the narrative around our library and make it a standard for other schools. It will be an e-library where children will have access to resources from around the world.”

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‎Alada also highlighted the role of foreign and inter-state teachers in enriching the school’s academic environment in earlier years.

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‎He said that plans are underway to engage retired alumni and professionals to teach core subjects, helping bridge gaps in staffing and improving quality education for students.

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‎Speaking on the return of schools to the missionary, the Vive President said that “capability and strategy, not sentiment, should guide such decisions.

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‎”If missions want their school back, they should present the strategy and parameters for handling the schools to government.

He added that ” If government looks at it and it’s something good, then government may consider giving such schools back. I know government will be happy to yield the responsibility of such venture to capable missions.

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‎”However, we would warn against sentiments. It is only when you are ready and capable of handling such venture that you should come forward,” the VP stressed.

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‎Alada reaffirmed the Alumni’s commitment “to making Ahmadiyya Grammar School a benchmark for educational excellence and a model for alumni-driven development in Nigeria.