Proprietors train 200 female students on soap-making in Delta

THE popular axiom, train a girl child and you’ll train a nation, was brought to bear last weekend when the Society of Female School Owners of Nigeria (SOFSON) trained no fewer than 200 Senior Secondary School students (SSS III) in Warri South, Uvwie and Udu Local Government Areas of Delta State in the art of soap-making.

The essence, the organisers said, was to provide them with a skill that could make them self-reliant and weather economic storms after their secondary education.

The beneficiary students were also given tips by seasoned tutors including Mrs Jane Johnny and Princess Bibian Enebelion on how to manage stress, peer pressure and academic excellence by seasoned teachers.

The Chief Inspectors of Education in Warri and Uvwie Local Government Areas, Dr Michael Emeshi, Mr. Sunday Egomaguna and the President of SOFSON, Mrs. Dorcas Oguntoyinbo, reiterated that the training programme was part of efforts to make secondary school leavers productive and self-reliant amid recession.

Chief Inspector of Education in Warri South Local Government Area, Dr. Emeshili, who was represented by Mrs. Oghale Onokohwomo and his Uvwie counterpart, Mr. Egomaguna, who was also represented by Mrs. Tonwe Akeyi, commended the organisers of the programme for catching them young.

They noted that skills acquisition and vocational training for youths especially remained the way to go, urging the participants to make effective use of the skills acquired.

President of SOFSON, Mrs Oguntoyinbo, who averred that the training was aimed at making secondary school leavers productive and self-reliant, explained that as Nigeria was experiencing economic recession, more emphasis should be placed on vocational skills instead of relying only on academic qualification.

Some resource persons at the seminar included Dame Florence Ehinlaiye, Dr Ason Bazuaye, Mrs Rose Obi, and Dame Clementina Bakpa urged the students to shun all forms of social vices and channel their youthful energies into profitable ventures by putting the skills acquired into use.

Some of the elated participating students and their teachers thanked the organisers of the free soap-making training programme with a promise to better their lives with the knowledge acquired.