Educationist urges school heads to adopt solar power to aid learning

Citing the usefulness of electricity in the day-to-day running of school activities, Administrator of Genesis Christian Academy, Kuje, Abuja, Mrs. Christie Okey-Ubabukor, has urged school owners to adopt the use of solar power in their institutions, until the power situation in the country improves.

This she said will help improve the teaching and learning process in their schools, particularly for laboratory experiments, computer practical, and overhead projector machines, among others.

Okey-Ubabukor, whose school run solely on solar power and generates three kilowatts, which powers all its facilities, said schools that rely on the services of the Nigerian Power Holding Company, (PHCN) may not achieve 21st century teaching and learning, adding that alternative power is the only way out.

According to her “The solar power is reliable and cheap, and we have not experienced power outage in the past six years. The initial financial outlay may be high, but it would pay itself over and over. With the adoption of sustainable clean energy, we have lighted the way for the nation. The school was generating 1.5kw before it was scaled up to the current 3kw, and the system is sustained by twelve 200 watts batteries each costing N120, 000.

“Electricity is very imperative in every schools environment, as long as we want to achieve huge success and follow the recent trends in the sector. Schools should not rely on PHCN for power, they should adopt the method, we did it and it worked for us. Since the solar panels were installed six years ago, we never have to pay power bills, no outage and we receive 24 hours power supply.”

On how the school handles the financing and technical aspect of it, she said, “We had a mishap recently when a technician made an error in connection and this destroyed nine batteries which we had to replace. The solar power has really served us well, I wish other schools can also install it and enjoy the benefits in the interest of the Nigerian child.

Also, the school proprietor, Mr. Harold Ubabukor, who established the school after retiring as a chartered accountant, explained that it is a non-profit institution built to assist parents in training their children in a decent environment, and at affordable cost.

“Till now, the parents determine what their children pay and the tuition has remained the same for the past six years because the school was founded to raise great, morally upright scholars that would change the nation.”