“Education is the bedrock of development in any country and we know that the free quality education policy of the new government was a good idea. I hope the pupils would embrace it with both hands,” he said.
He said as a cooperate institution, they would try to support schools with learning materials and help push the free quality education forward, adding that they were donating learning material to five different primary schools in the Freetown municipality.
He said they would also make similar donations to schools in Kenema, Bo and Makeni and Western Rural in the near future.
Adebiyi further said that despite donating books to schools, they had also helped in renovating schools in Freetown and Kenema, noting that without doubt, their support to education was not only limited to the present government objectives.
He maintained that they have spent over 200 million Leones for the renovation of schools and the provision of learning materials.
“This is part of our corporate social responsibility. You are the future leaders of this country and so please do well in your school work,” he admonished the pupils.
He said for them at GTB, they believed in developing partnership with stockholders in the society that would help give back to society.
The Managing Director said they chose education because they believed anyone who has quality education would be better positioned to achieve quality life style.
“We believed the enabling environment should be created for pupils to get quality teaching service. One such way is the provision of learning materials. We are business people but we like to give back to society. I also want to appeal that these books be used judiciously and the children should benefit from using them,” he said.
The Head Teacher of Aberdeen Municipal Primary School, Madam Batte Johnson, thanked the management and staff of GTB for choosing her school as there were many schools in Freetown.
She expressed delight for the materials as they were in dire need of them. She welcomed the bank’s idea to renovate the school as the classrooms were not conducive for learning.
