Stanbic IBTC Holdings, a member of Standard Bank Group announced it had adopted Kurba Community Primary School in Yamaltu Deba LGA in Gombe state school as part of its Adopt A School Programme.
The school, which was established in 1975, and with a current population of 400 students was selected to become part of the programme.
Stanbic IBTC Adopt A School Programme is a CSR initiative aimed at improving the quality of education for children all over Nigeria by identifying, adopting and renovating public schools thereby creating model learning centres for children.
Dr Demola Sogunle, Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC, who spoke on the handover of the school said “The adoption of Kurba Community Primary school falls under Stanbic IBTC’s Social, Environmental and Economic (SEE) impact areas of education, health, and financial inclusion”. “It is also in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 which focuses on free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education for children by 2030”, he added.
He further said, “Stanbic IBTC believes every child should get educated in an environment conducive to learning. As a socially responsible organisation, we ensure that we contribute our quota to development of individuals and institutions in all communities we operate in, which is why we are here today in Kurba Community”.
To kick-start the adoption of the school, Stanbic IBTC renovated and rebuilt classrooms blocks, renovated the toilets and equipped the classrooms and teachers’ offices with furniture. Trees were also planted in the school as part of the organisation’s commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 in Nigeria. Students and Staff of the Kurba Community Primary School were also granted access to training and learning opportunities as part of benefits of the Adopt A School Programme.
In his speech, the Permanent Secretary, Gombe State Ministry of Education, Mr Mohammed Galadima, thanked Stanbic IBTC Holdings for the adoption of Kurba Community Primary School and implored other organisations to emulate Stanbic IBTC.
Stanbic IBTC Holdings said it remained committed to improving the learning conditions of Nigerian students and providing opportunities to improve the number of educated children in the country.