Make friends with your children to curb negative habits, parents told

PARENTS have been charged to make friends with their children in order to easily neutralise any negative influence as well as curb any of the bad habits that are now prevalent in the society.

Chairman, board of governors, Jextoban Secondary School, Ibafo, Ogun State, Pastor E. A. Ojo, gave this counsel while speaking at the 21st valedictory service and graduation of the ‘Class of 2019’ at the weekend.

Pastor Ojo commended the graduating set for having impressed the school “with your cool headed disposition and readiness to submit to constituted authority.” He noted that the day’s event marked the end of a chapter in their lives and the beginning of another.

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The school’s board chairman said the graduating set would be propelled to whatever heights of success they set their mind to reach as they went out into the world with virtues that had been impacted into them, such as diligence, passion, resilience, determination, positive attitude, among others.

Speaking on the achievements of the school since it graduated its first set of 23 students in 1999, Ojo disclosed that a total of 1,297 students had so far graduated out from the Lagos campus, adding “while from the Ibafo campus here, we have passed out a total of 21 students made up of five last year and 16 this year.”

According to him, with the school’s mission statement being: “To develop the total personality of the Jextoban child through Christian virtues and values to excel in global society,” a total of 20 former students of the school had graduated with First Class from different universities in Europe, the United States and even in Nigeria.

“Two of them have just made First Class, one in the USA and another in Poland,” he disclosed.

Pastor Ojo revealed further that a total of 81 students had enjoyed full and half scholarships worth over N103 million, in the last 10 years, explaining that this effort was in pursuit of the school’s social responsibility

“We need to help needy students have access to qualitative education with good character,” he added.

Speaking earlier, the principal of the Lagos campus, Mr. E. A. Adegoke, asserted that the authorities had imparted both educational and moral virtues required to the graduating students.

He charged them not to be in a haste to make money, noting that pursuit of the virtues already embedded in them would definitely bring them money in their endeavours.

Also speaking, principal of the Ogun State campus, Mr. V. O. Aigbofoh, stated that the school had placed great emphasis on sound principles that would make the students distinguish themselves in life.

He, therefore, charged the students to exhibit, in full, all the virtues they had imbibed anywhere they might find themselves.