The 1985 set of the Queen’s College Old Girls Association on Saturday handed over a 12KW inverter combined with an 11,000W solar panel system to power a block of classrooms used by the Senior Secondary (Arts) classes in their alma mater.
According to the President of QCOGA, Mrs Temitope Okunoren-Makindipe, who also belongs to the 1985 set, the “Light Up QC” project, intended to power 18 classrooms, cost the set about N15m.
Okunoren-Makindipe said the project was conceived to address the difficulty the school faced in ensuring a constant electricity supply due to high electricity tariffs and the rising cost of diesel.
She explained that in 2024, the 1985 set decided to take up the project to light up the classrooms and corridor areas serving SS1–3 Arts students ahead of its 40th anniversary this year.
She said, “In the year 2022, incidentally, I was Vice-President 2 of the association at that time. We observed that there was a problem in the school. The principal at the time said electricity was an issue.
“We did an energy audit. We had companies coming here to see what could be done—solar—and then it was very expensive. So, it was narrowed down that we would start with the lighting in the school area, in the classroom area.
“They were paying very high rates for electricity, and diesel was getting too expensive. So, we had a situation where the children were not able to study at night.
“This project is just to make sure that the children can study well at night. This is a very major project that we have done. It’s cost a lot of money, almost N15 million.”
Also speaking, the Chairperson of the 1985 set, Mrs. Olabisi Oladipo, noted that the set, like some other sets, keyed into QCOGA’s agenda to ensure constantly lit and well-lit classrooms.
She noted that the project, which has both inverter and solar components, would provide 24-hour electricity for the students to study.
Members of QCOGA present at the event included Nnena Nwaokobia, Bose Odubanjo, Sola Adeyemi, Wunmi Tunde-Obe, Tosan Odukoya, and Eyiyemi Rogbinyin.
Receiving the donation on behalf of the school management, the Vice Principal, Academics 1, Sule Mohammed, stressed its importance in enhancing teaching and learning.
He requested that the 1985 set allow the project to serve not only the evening prep classes but also power the interactive smart boards during the day. Mohammed also urged that the science block should benefit from a similar project.
The benefitting students, including the Head Girl, Chukwuma-Okoh Naomi, and the Tidiness Prefect, Oyeneyin Elizabeth, said the project would enable them to have a conducive studying and learning environment both during the day and at night.
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