The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has renovated Ife Girls High School in Ile-Ife, Osun State, as part of its corporate social responsibility programme, Customs Cares.

The renovated school was commissioned on Monday, 14 September 2026, with the NCS also announcing university scholarships for the school’s three top-performing students.

The intervention is aimed at improving the learning environment for students by upgrading facilities across the school.

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Customs urges students to focus on education

Speaking during the commissioning, Comptroller-General of Customs Adewale Adeniyi urged the students to remain committed to their education despite the challenges they may face.

“Education is the passport that you need for a better life, for a better future, not just for you, but for your parents, your community, and the country.”

Adeniyi said education could make a difference in the lives of the students regardless of their circumstances.

He also challenged the students to reciprocate the investment by performing well academically.

“What this means is that I have thrown the ball into your court. I now want you to reward me back.”

According to the CGC, the renovation forms part of the NCS’s wider corporate social responsibility programme being implemented in different parts of Nigeria.

Top three students to receive university scholarships

The Customs chief announced that the three best-performing students of Ife Girls High School would receive university scholarships.

The announcement links the renovation project to longer-term educational support, with the students being encouraged to take advantage of the improved facilities and remain focused on their studies.

Osun education commissioner praises intervention

Osun State Commissioner for Education, Dipo Eluwole, described the project as a significant milestone for education in the state.

He said the intervention went beyond improving the school’s physical structures, covering several aspects of the school’s environment and operations.

“This is indeed a comprehensive intervention. It addresses the school’s educational, administrative, sanitary, recreational, environmental, and worker needs.”

Mr Eluwole said a supportive physical environment was important to effective learning and student wellbeing.

“It demonstrates an understanding that for students to learn effectively, their physical environment must also support their well-being.”

School promises to maintain facilities

The Principal of Ife Girls High School, Martina Akinremi, thanked the NCS for investing in the students’ future.

She pledged that the school would properly maintain the renovated facilities and ensure they were used to their full potential.

The project highlights the role of corporate social responsibility interventions in supporting public education, particularly where improvements to school infrastructure can affect students’ learning environment.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has launched an initiative to give students and other learners access to approved digital education platforms without data charges.

The Zero-Rated Access to Educational Platforms Initiative, launched in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education, is aimed at reducing the cost of accessing online learning resources in Nigeria.

The initiative is expected to make digital education more accessible to students who may otherwise be unable to regularly afford the data required to use online learning platforms.

Why the initiative matters

As education increasingly moves beyond physical classrooms, the cost of internet access remains an important consideration for students and learners who depend on digital resources.

Under the new initiative, approved educational platforms will be zero-rated, meaning eligible users can access them without the usual data charges, subject to the terms and scope of the programme.

The NCC said the initiative is intended to remove data-cost barriers and expand access to digital learning opportunities.

The commission described collaboration, innovation and partnerships between the communications and education sectors as central to making digital learning more inclusive.

NCC, Education Ministry collaborate

The initiative is being implemented in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Education, bringing together stakeholders from government, academia, the communications and education sectors and student representatives.

The launch provided an opportunity for stakeholders to discuss how the programme could support wider participation in digital education.

A panel session examined the initiative’s vision, implementation and potential benefits, as well as the role of collaboration in ensuring that the programme produces meaningful and sustainable results.

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Access to digital learning

The initiative comes as Nigerian students increasingly rely on online resources for learning, research and access to educational materials.

By removing or reducing the data-cost barrier on approved platforms, the programme could help more learners use digital educational resources without having to weigh the cost of internet data each time they access them.

However, the effectiveness of the initiative will depend on factors including the range of platforms covered, the availability and quality of internet connectivity, awareness among students and how the programme is implemented.

Further details on the approved platforms, eligibility and operational arrangements will be important for learners seeking to benefit from the initiative.

What’s next

The NCC’s latest initiative places affordability alongside connectivity in efforts to expand digital education in Nigeria.

Its impact will ultimately depend on how widely students can access the zero-rated platforms and whether collaboration between the communications and education sectors can translate the policy into sustained access to digital learning.

Nigerian Christian educator and author, Dr Oluwayemisi Adepoju-Awodele, has urged parents to pay greater attention to the values, beliefs and character their children develop outside the home.

Adepoju-Awodele, who is also a mother, said parents should look beyond what children are taught academically and consider the influences shaping them when they are not present.

Her message comes ahead of the launch of two faith-based guided journals, Doxa’s Heart and David’s Heart, designed for children aged seven to 13.

The journals are scheduled for launch on Sunday, September 13, 2026.

What children learn outside the home

Children encounter influences from teachers, friends, books, social environments and the content they watch or listen to.

Adepoju-Awodele argues that while parents cannot monitor every conversation or experience their children have, they can provide a strong foundation around faith, character, identity and purpose.

The educator says the more important parenting question is not only what a child knows, but what those lessons are helping the child become.

“What am I intentionally putting into my child’s heart, not just what am I teaching them to know, but what am I helping them become?”

She believes this question should encourage parents to create opportunities for children to think about their values rather than simply memorise information.

Journals designed to encourage reflection

Doxa’s Heart, created for girls, and David’s Heart, created for boys, are intended to give children a structured space to engage with biblical teachings, writing, reflection and questions.

The concept is based on the idea that children can benefit from having opportunities to process what they are learning and develop their own understanding of faith and values.

For parents, such activities can also provide opportunities to discover what children are thinking about and start conversations around issues that may otherwise go unnoticed.

A child’s response to a question in a journal, for example, could become the starting point for a conversation between parent and child.

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From teaching to character formation

Adepoju-Awodele’s work brings together her experience in education and her Christian faith.

She is the author of Teaching: A Service to God and Humanity, which examines teaching through a biblical perspective, and King David and His Mighty Friends: A Devotional (Creation Story), a faith-based resource aimed at helping children engage with biblical teachings.

Known as “Your Favorite Teacher”, she describes her work as focused on inspiring and empowering students, teachers, parents and other education stakeholders.

She says her experience as an educator and mother has reinforced her view that the foundation children receive during their formative years can influence how they respond to challenges as they grow.

Preparing children for moments without parental supervision

The project also addresses a concern familiar to many parents: children will eventually have to make decisions without their parents present.

They will form friendships, encounter unfamiliar ideas and face situations where parents cannot immediately tell them what to do.

For Adepoju-Awodele, this makes character and personal conviction important parts of parenting.

The central question, she suggests, is not simply whether children will obey their parents, but what principles will guide them when no parent is watching.

“What will guide my child when I’m not there?”

What parents can take from the conversation

The launch of the journals comes amid wider discussions about the role of parents, schools and communities in children’s development.

While faith-based resources can provide one approach to character formation, children are also influenced by their wider environment, including schools, peers, media and communities.

That means parents cannot control every influence their children encounter.

They can, however, create regular opportunities to listen to their children, discuss difficult questions and reinforce the values they want their children to understand.

Adepoju-Awodele hopes Doxa’s Heart and David’s Heart will contribute to those conversations.

When are Doxa’s Heart and David’s Heart launching?

The two guided journals will officially launch on Sunday, September 13, 2026, for children aged seven to 13.

The resources are designed around faith, reflection, writing, character development, identity and purpose.

For Adepoju-Awodele, however, the journals represent more than educational materials.

They are intended to prompt parents to consider what they are deliberately placing in their children’s hearts and how those lessons might influence the adults their children eventually become.

About Dr Oluwayemisi Adepoju-Awodele

Dr Oluwayemisi Adepoju-Awodele is a Christian educator, author and mother known as “Your Favorite Teacher”.

She is passionate about supporting students, teachers, parents and education stakeholders.

Her published works include Teaching: A Service to God and Humanity and King David and His Mighty Friends: A Devotional (Creation Story).

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