Worried over the dwindling standard of education in the country, Fidson Healthcare plc, through its Astymin brand, is spending over N10 million to reward over 200 best graduating students in public and private schools spanning across South West states. The states also include Delta, Anambra and Enugu with educational materials during the Astymin Brilliance Reward (ABR) initiative.
The ABR initiative, stakeholders believe, is one of the ways the company is supporting academic excellence, bearing in mind that the quality of education at its developmental stages of any child is critical upon which further learning is built.
Speaking with BusinessDay ahead of the reward holding at the Grange School, Ikeja, on July 19, 2014, Ola Ijimakin, general manager, marketing, Fidson Healthcare, said that the reading culture among youths was on the decline, as the drive for academic excellence was no longer strong.
With increased internet accessibility and proliferation of social networks, which should be tools for social education, research and intellectual exchange, have unfortunately becoming platforms for various delinquencies, Ijimakin noted, saying the ABR is one way the brand intends to contribute to the development of the country’s educational system and the future of the Nigerian children.
According to Ijimakin, “this is another season of delight for the children who have worked so hard and perform exceptionally in their academics.
“The company is once again using this platform to demonstrating its brand promise of adding value to people’s lives; this time around by promoting children’s educational development, courtesy of the Astymin brand.”
Explaining the rationale for the event, according to Ijimakin, Astymin brand supports various school programmes in primary schools.
“Essentially, students in primary schools in Lagos State write an essay on a topic agreed upon by their teachers. The teachers also assess them and chose the best of the entries. Astymin rewards the child with the best essay and this happen on a monthly basis.
“There are also online activities on the Astymin Official website: www.myatymin.com, which students can access for educational materials,” Ijimakin disclosed.
