Rainbow College, Maba, Ogun State, on Friday graduated 98 pupils with the school’s Executive Director, Mrs. Oludolapo Odunlami, and Pastor Nehemiah Aromolaran, calling the nation’s leaders to pay more attention to the development of public education in the country.

Aromolaran also urged the pupils to embrace the virtues of leadership, which he said, include selflessness, focus, consistency, integrity and service to the led.

According to Odunlami, the three tiers of governments in the country should rise and make education their top priority.

“Public education deserves attention and governments at all levels should spare no efforts at injecting huge resources in this all-important sector. But apart from investing more money, monitoring and supervision are also needed. Human capacity in the sector should be developed and quality should be set, maintained and sustained,” she said.

Odunlami, who also called on parents to partner with the school to mould well-adjusted children, urged the graduands to be focused and determined.

Also, Aromolaran told the pupils, parents and guests, including a member of the House of Representatives, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, to change their perception about leadership, which he noted, many believed was an avenue for self-enrichment and self aggrandisement.

“Leadership is about focus, vision, integrity, selflessness and service to the people. We should see it as an avenue to leave whatever space we are occupying better than we met it. All of us should know that we are leaders and should therefore begin to do the right things always,” he said.

Aromolaran, who said he was leading a campaign to make leadership and governance better in the country, endowed a prize for leadership for graduating pupils of the college. He said the award would also be taken to other schools across the country to motivate pupils to become good leaders.

However, the 2013 valedictory/graduation of the college was a potpourri of activities as prayers, praises, presentation of academic and social prizes, handover of the staff of office to new prefects, and farewell songs by the graduands spiced up the event.

Some pupils, who distinguished themselves in their studies, were honoured. Dumebi Okwuosa was one of them. He won three awards for being the best graduating pupil in Chemistry, Physics and English Language. He was also one of the two valedictorians. His emergence as the valedictorian for the boarding arm of the college was inspiring.

Dumebi was once one of the academically backward pupils in the class. But he transformed into a high achiever by a dint of hard work.

When he was called to the podium, Dumebi thanked his teachers for grooming him; his parents for investing hugely in his education.