By Don Peter Okoro
Nnewi the commercial and industrial hub of the South East witnessed an exciting and boisterous activity on Friday the 3rd of January 2025, when Old Boys of Nnewi High School gathered at the prestigious Grand Season Hotel Nnewi for their Convention/Homecoming Extraordinary 2025 with the theme: Repositioning Our Alma Mater.
The Event was a huge success as the Old Boys came out in their numbers to support their Alma Mater with generous donations. The Acting National President, Engr Ejike Vincent, in a brief chat with the press, pointed out that this was actually their first time of having such a gathering and the reason is for them to chart a new course for the school.
Engr Ejike underscored the need for the school to regain its glory which the Founders in their wisdom had the original motto as: “Second to None”. On the major project they have at hand, he revealed: “The project we have at hand has to do with infrastructure. We are looking at physical buildings and hostels. Right now, the boarding facility is down. So we need a brand new hostel that will meet the standard modern age.”
They are estimating a budget of #620 Million to offset the projects. Asked what they intend to do in order to bring discipline back to the school, before upgrading it, he submitted that “The major way to upgrade the school is to create a conducive environment for the students. And to get the students back to the boarding facility. By then, you stop using the place as stadium, because it’s the people going there to do sports and other things that create the notoriety for which the school is now known. If the right environment is created, discipline for which the school was known it will return.”
On how the school can generate revenue from activities like wedding, burial, football competitions and so on, he responded thus: “The school can generate revenue from these activities, but the objective of setting up the school is to train children. That should form the focus and not to generate revenue. Train up good students so that they can grow up to become good citizens. That’s more important than using it for football or wedding events in order to generate money. That place is a school and should remain a school. Thank you.”
Among some of the stakeholders at the occasion was the Chairman Board Of Trustees of The Old Boys Association, Crown Prince, Dr. Obi Orizu.
John Obiamalu
January 6, 2025 at 8:23 amExactly the point school is meant for training of students not to generate revenue. The focal point is to provide a conducive environment for learning. The boarding school system should be restored so that students from distance places can be boarded in the school environment