Principal, Junior Secondary School (JSS), Jabi 1, Mr. Sikiru Akeem has advocated for a life insurance for athletes at all levels.

Akeem made this known in Abuja on Thursday at the 11th Annual Inter-house Sports Competition of the school.

He called for adequate welfare of students athletes and their game masters to encourage them in bringing up other athletes that would help in national development.

He said that sports keep the world together and a key player in bringing countries of the world together in peace and harmony.

According to him, many student athletes and their game masters/mistress are not treated well, rather they are been used as tools to enrich pockets.

” I wish to bring it to the notice of all the stakeholders that many student Athletes and their game Masters/Mistress are not treated well.

” Rather, they are been used as tools to enrich pockets by sources that do not even have anything to do with school system through some insiders.

” A good example are some private bodies/NGO that bring competition to our schools, use the students athletes/sport officers and dump them without adequate honorarium while monies were collected from sponsors of the competition,” he said.

The principal urged private bodies and organisations bringing competition into our schools to henceforth spell out the welfare conditions of the students athlete and sport officers with excellent commitment.

He said this would encourage the parents, students, athletes, sport officer and the school to commit to sport activities.

” Many of our discovered students athletes by our school sport officers are being taken for various competition without permission from power that laboured for their discovery.

” A good example is the National Youth games that is held annually in Ilorin Kwara State, where many of our student athletes are taken away without proper procedure.

” And the glory goes to the coach that did not know how the athletes were discovered. It is high time we protect our own.

“The game masters/mistress too should reap the fruits of their labour,” he added.

He, therefore, appealed to parents/guardians to encourage their wards/children who are interested in sports saying that most identified sports talent faced a lot of resistance from homes.

Also, the Director, FCT Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Hajia Ramatu Musa, said that the annual sports competition in various school was put on hold due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Musa was however said it was time for schools to present students hidden talents through the competitions.

She urged sports officials to be fair and just in the delivery of judgment in the competition.

In the same vein, Chairman, Parent Teachers Association (PTA) of the school, Mr Rafiu Ibrahim, called for support from parents and community members to enhance the school’s progress.

” We need more teachers to be able to handle the students adequately.

‘Also, some of our security personnel were not really trained to handle the task but they are doing their best to keep the work going.

” And in view of these inadequacies, we hereby call on government and communities to come to the school’s aid in other to achieve the desired progressive target,” he said.

At the announcement of the overall result of the school competition, Pink house came top in the competition with 302 points, red house came second with 300 points while yellow house came third with 274 points.

Also, green house came fourth with 260 points, blue house came fifth with 246 points while purple house came sixth with 234 points.