NAN-S-4
Competition
By Martha Agas
Jos, March 18, 2017(NAN) The Industrial Training Fund Staff School, Jos, has resuscitated its Inter-House Athletics competition after nine years with the objective of inculcating discipline, confidence and teamwork in students.
Speaking at the competition on Saturday in Jos, Mrs Ekong Ndidi-Amaka, the Principal of the school, said the competition was a good strategy in boosting learner’s confidence and self-esteem.
“The competition is beneficial in inculcating skills, discipline, responsibility, self-confidence, teamwork and self-esteem in learners,’’ she said.
The principal said that sports would improve the memory span as well as effective problem solving skills of the students.
Ndidi-Amaka commended the ITF School’s Parent Teacher Association (PTA) for sponsoring the provision of three trophies for the fourth inter-house sports competition.
Contributing, Joseph Ari, the Director-General of ITF, said the major thrust for establishing the staff school was to facilitate the development of well-groomed citizens with requisite intellectual, technical and social abilities of international standard.
Ari, represented by Usman Lawal, Director of Business, Training and Development of the organisation, said ITF was striving to provide conducive environment that would enhance academic, social and spiritual wellbeing of students.
“Inter-house sports has been found to promote discipline, responsibility, accountability and teamwork, hence the decision to resuscitate it to encourage interpersonal skills and teamwork,’’ he said.
Ari said the competition was a platform to expose talents to produce the likes of Mikel Obi, Ahmed Musa and Blessing Okagbare among others.
The Plateau Commissioner for Sports, Danladi Mann, said that the state was determined to harness sports potential in youths.
He said the state had organised inter-house sports competitions for public primary schools and was preparing for a sports festival in 2017.
Mann said that engaging children in sports would reduce youth restiveness and nefarious activities in the society.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that four houses participated in various competitions, including long jump, javelin throw, 100m and 200m sprints among others.
Eleven visiting schools also competed in 400m relay. (NAN)
MAA/PDE
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(Editing by Peter Ejiofor)