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NGO set to empower Ondo teachers with loans, skills

A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Orange Card Project, has expressed its desire to empower about 10,000 teachers in Ondo state public schools with grants and training to improve the welfare of the teachers.

The Lead Consultant for the Orange privilege card project, Mr. Ladipo Oke, who disclosed this during the launch of the project in the state, said teachers in the state would benefit from commodities, loans and home appliances worth over N20m

Oke explained that teachers in the state would get exclusive training for free, scholarships to its academy, entrepreneurship training as well as free smart academy training on the use of digital teaching aids and equipment.

Speaking on the Orange Privilege Card Project, the lead consultant said, “This organization has decided to take the bull by the horns by seeing how to intervene on the current disconnection in our educational system where we found out that the real major change is to focus on the real people which are the teachers.

“What Orange Privilege Platform is creating a platform where teachers’ welfare, well-being, wellness and career profiles can be accessed.

“The programme started about 24 months ago and through the different partners that have been supporting the programmes, we have been able to deliver products worth about N200m to public teachers in Ogun state.

“We are just launching into Ondo state but we started in Ogun state where we have over 6,000 who have benefited from our scheme, either in terms of getting loans to further their career or loans for their basic needs or asset acquisition and most importantly for essential commodities that we get for them at control price, which they buy direct from the manufacturer”

He said the grants would cover cash support and capacity-building programmes focusing on the effective use of digital tools and resources, subjects’ content development and entrepreneurial skills.

“The idea is that the little they are earning takes them farther and can acquire more than what they might have gotten if they go to the open market.

“The project is primarily for teachers because we believe if the teachers are well fed and happy, then they will be happy to impact the students and because the teachers are the most important stakeholders in the education matrix and if the teacher is fulfilled, he would add value to the life of the students in the classrooms.

“We are looking at about 10,000 teachers in the state and as of today they will start accessing all these benefits and we do this every month, it’s a monthly thing. So this is a collaboration between the organization and the state Ministry of Education and TESCOM and we hope to reach primary arms as time goes on.

“We also have local and international training programmes and very soon all teachers across the state will be having tablets with WiFi support so that they can receive comprehensive training wherever they are. We have started with private schools too in other states.”

Also speaking, one of the Directors of the Orange Privilege Card project, Mr. Bemi Jayebo, said the programme is a social improvement programme to give teachers access to different kinds of facilities, which include kind of educational and technical, designed to improve their living standards and their capacity.

He said “It was our desire to help teachers to have a good life. The fact that a person chooses teaching as a career doesn’t mean he should be sentenced to penury or poverty.

“The initiative aims at supporting the state government in its efforts to raise the standard of living of teachers in the Ogun State, their proficiency, the education sector and the economy as a whole.

“Teachers play a vital role in nation-building and development, they deserve to live well and constantly improve their professional efficiency.

“This will translate to growth of our society and the nation, we need to support them in any way possible for them to make more impact in their nation-building profession.

“So if they have access to credit facilities and are able to get some things at reasonable prices and add some dignity to the work they do and give them some sense of satisfaction and not just the salaries. These are the people that are in charge of our future, so it is important to make the work worthwhile for them”

Lauding the initiative, the State Chairman Academics Staff Union of Secondary Schools in Ondo state, Comrade Tajudeen Balogun, described the initiative as a good development, considering the impact it would have on the economy of their members.

According to him, information received from other states where the project exists indicated that teachers would be relieved from some economic hardships.

One of the teachers in the state, the Principal of African Church Comprehensive High School, Alagbaka, Akure, Mrs. Mopelola Adenikinju, said many teachers have benefited from commodities, loans and home appliances worth millions of naira.

She expressed optimism that the initiative will bring succour to teachers in the state and said “this Orange card project is a very exciting and laudable programme because when an organization is very interested in the welfare of the teachers, it gladens our heart that some people are still interested in putting smiles on the faces of the teachers.

“They are putting up this project to help build the future of the teachers, when they grow old after leaving the job, they are not just left to cater for yourself alone or even to rot away”

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