By Emeagi E. Williams
When in 2009 the Joint Professionals Training and Support Int’l began its amazing educational sojourn with the mandate to provide professional training in health and safety, little did anyone envisage that it would metamorphose into a general solace in the scheme of educational affairs.
That year, the Management of the JPTS seriously pursued its mandate, thus crashed the cost of training in those disciplines from a whooping 25,000 to 10,000 naira.
The subsequent need to advance that fundamental service to make it cut across led the management to extend tentacles to reach those in dire need.
However, the JPTS penchant waxed stronger and began to pursue wider and affordable educational services. It penetrated areas of Nigeria where access to such professional trainings was hitherto impossible.
At the onset, Corp members across the nation benefitted immensely and used the opportunity to enhance their professional status.
Progressively, the management established study centres in rural communities such as in Kafanchan that never had such since the independence of Nigeria.
To encourage the people, JPTS also offered scholarships to Students as a way of subsidizing their education.
As result, beneficiaries have been using their certificates to secure jobs and to further their education in other institutions through credits transfer, a legitimate procedure through which JPTS further empowers students.
On account of these, euphoric testimonies of grateful students, families and communities abound leading to national and international recognitions which attracted awards such as The ‘Best Institute in Africa’, ‘The Best Literacy Training Institute in Nigeria’, ‘ISO 9001- Certificate in Quality Management System and more.
As a matter of fact, JPTS, through its President, won the prestigious Oscar Award for Education in France (2006).
The JPTS also won the ‘Africa Educator of the Year’ by Forbes.
The reality that this great institute had spread its tentacles in fulfilling its mandate to other parts of the world, like Ghana, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Togo, Dubai etc is a testament of superb educational exploits.
It is therefore not bewildering to see that certain retrogressive elements and enemies of good make attempts to sabotage such magnanimous educational outfit patriotically designed.
And internal, external saboteurs pursue this dastardly act through petty vulnerabilities, such that are natural to every system.
Some of these disgruntled forces began to ascribe blames to JPTS when as a matter of govt action, schools in Benin Republic and Togo were suspended for obvious reasons recently, because some JPTS students are transferred to some school in Togo for legitimate upgrade.
Common sense should inform them that it is actually a problem between Nigeria and Togo which will be resolved by the two nations.
Considering the accolades, panegyrics pouring from various families and societies in Nigeria for the educational value they are getting from the JPTS scheme, it wouldn’t be absurd to pray that this great institute be honoured rather than castigated.
The implication is that the haters of the scheme should learn to appreciate good things or bury their heads in shame!
