By Francis Kokutse
Lagos, Nov 19 (IANS): In another feather to the cap of the Indian private sector in Africa, Airtel Nigeria has been adjudged the best company for corporate social responsibility (CSR) in education by the Social Enterprise Report Awards (SERA) for 2014 beating other companies including Samsung, Etisalat and Oando at a ceremony here.
The SERA awards, also known as the Nigeria CSR Awards, is one of the count'y's highly acclaimed awards recognised by Industry experts.
In a citation by the organisers, Airt'l's Adopt-a-School programme and the Bridge IT project were described as some of the key initiatives of the telecom major which has contributed to the development of education in the country.
Receiving the award, Segun Ogunsanya, managing director and chief executive officer of Airtel Nigeria, said the company placed a high priority on its CSR programmes which cut across critical areas of societal needs such as education and youth empowerment among many other initiatives.
He commended the commitment and sacrifices of all staff of the company which he said had been pivotal to the successes of the compa'y's CSR efforts, adding that, the company would not relent in its drive towards an improved society.
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"At Airtel we place strong emphasis on giving back to the society because we know that government alone cannot continue to shoulder the huge responsibilities," Ogunsanya said.
"For this reason we prioritise our CSR focus on developing education, health, environment and sports as well as empowering youths in Niger"a."
Through its Adopt-a-School initiative, Airtel Nigeria has contributed immensely towards improving education within communities in Nigeria. Under the programme, the telco collaborates with State Universal Basic Education (SUBEB) in various states to provide primary school pupils in under-served communities with educational materials such as note books, uniforms, classroom furniture and borehole for potable water.
As part of this initiative, new blocks of classrooms have also been built to replace dilapidated structures in some schools across Nigeria, while the teachers receive periodic training as part of efforts aimed at improving teaching quality and standards.
The schools which are currently benefitting from this initiative are Oremeji Primary School II, Ajegunle, Lagos; St. John Primary School, Oke-Agbo, Ijebu-Igbo, Ogun state; Presbyterian Primary School, Ediba, Cross River; and Community Primary School, Amumara, Imo State.
Airtel also recently conducted free eye-screening for teachers and pupils of these schools, and those who required corrective glasses were provided with eyeglasses to improve their sight.
In 2011, Airtel partnered with Nokia and Pearson to create the Bridge IT project, which empowers teachers across Lagos state to adopt innovative and effective teaching practices through the use of mobile technology and student-focused pedagogy. A total of 132 primary schools in Lagos have so far benefitted from this project.
The company also caters for various primary schools across the six geo-political zones in Nigeria through the Goal-for-Education scheme. The scheme involves giving the participating teams in the Airtel Rising Stars U-17 grassroot football tournament, aggregated monetary value for the number of goals scored during regular match time. After the competition, the teams are encouraged to donate the money to schools in their home states.