The National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion, (NOTAP) has donated Laboratory equipment worth millions of naira for the upgrading of Chemistry Laboratory of Omuma Technical Secondary School, Omuma, Oru-West Local Government Council of Imo State.
Speaking during the Commissioning ceremony, the Director General and Chief Executive Officer of NOTAP, Dr. Obiageli Amadiobi said that as a regulatory agency, the Office observed that the Country is over dependent on foreign technologies and as a nation that is desirous of making a global impact in the technology space, such a situation was unacceptable.
She said that the project, Model Chemistry Laboratory equipment upgrade was initiated by the Office in 2018 to ensure that basic practical Science and Technology was taught in the Nigerian Secondary Schools. She said that the project was designed to catch them young, and leapfrog the technological development of the Country.
In a Press Release signed by Raymond Onyenezi Ogbu of Public Relations and Protocol Unit of NOTAP, Dr. Amadiobi noted that no meaningful development can occur without the strategic deployment of the instruments of Science and Technology. She added that based on the importance of STI in nations building, there was an urgent need to equip the nations educational infrastructure at the secondary schools level with State-of-the act Laboratory equipment to facilitate practical teaching and learning.
The DG informed the gathering that the Commissioning of the Omuma Technical Secondary School laboratory, will bring the number of upgraded secondary schools in Nigeria to seven ( 7) and the Office is ready and committed to upgrading as many Chemistry Laboratories as possible across the geopolitical zones of the Country but requires support from critical stakeholders.
While congratulating the school for attracting such gestures from NOTAP, and urging them to make judicious use of the equipment, she used the medium to appreciate the Hon. Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Hon. Uche Geoffrey Nnaji for the unalloyed support to NOTAP.
Earlier, the Executive Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodinma, represented by the Hon. Commissioner of Education, Prof. Ikeguoha said that science education was the bedrock for sustainable economic development. He said that the Executive Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodinma was committed to ensuring high quality education in Imo State that was why he had built a number of tertiary institutions within a space of a few years of his leadership, as the governor of Imo State.
He commended NOTAP for bringing such model Laboratory equipment to Omuma Secondary Technical School and urged the school to jealously guide the equipment.
Other stakeholders at the event, took turns to commend NOTAP for the impactful initiative.