As the Senior Prefect in your school, write out the speech you would give on the occasion of your school’s end-of-year ceremony. Mention some of the problems you faced and give suggestions on how they could be solved.
Explanation
The Chairman, Board of Governors, The Principal The President of Parent-Teachers Association, Members of staff and students, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen it is with great pleasure and a deep sense of humility that I stand before you this afternoon as the out-going senior prefect of our great school to deliver my valedictory speech
Exactly a year ago, the mantle of leadership of the students of this school fell on me. Then, I felt too small for the responsibilities which the post brought on me. However, with the power of God and the encouragement of both the Staff and students, I was able to forge ahead and overcome all the numerous challenges of the office. This is the reason why I am able to stand tall before you this afternoon.
Mr. Chairman, Principal, Ladies and Gentlemen, there is no doubt that in the last one year, the school has been able to record considerable progress especially in academics. The Lagos State Government donated two hundred thousand naira for the development of the school. In addition to this, the Parent-Teachers Association donated a bus for use by the school. These achievements are possible because of my administrations good rapport and disposition towards the school authority and the P.T.A.
In academics, as I mentioned earlier, the school was so outstanding that the governor of the state developed a great interest in our school. Our school represented the state in the National Essay Competition organised by the Mobil Petroleum Company and won a prize in the competition. Despite the numerous and laudable achievements recorded, there were problems which confronted my administration. An adage says: 'uneasy lies the head that wears the crown'. It is not an easy task, you will all agree with me, to be the head of students of about two thousand and five hundred in population.
The first problem that confronted me was how to make the school compound clean. What I realised initially was that to make the school clean, the filthy habit of the students had to be changed. I differed with my mates on the suggestion that we should set up a student task force to enforce cleanliness. I realised quickly that this will create more problems than solutions. What I did was to enlighten the students on the need to have a clean environment and I created dustbin centres at strategic and conspicuous places where refuse is gathered before it is taken to the central incinerator for burning.
Lateness to school by students was another problem that my administration faced. In solving this problem, I had to work in conjunction with the school authority. I discouraged flogging as this made students to be truants; when they come late to school they will refuse to enter the school and prefer to while away the time outside. Instead, any student who came late to school was made to serve punishment after school while those students who came early to school went home in the afternoon. Late comers waited behind to serve punishment, thus going back home late. This worked out well as many students made it a point of duty to rush down to school.
Perhaps the greatest problem I confronted during my tenure was that of bullying in the school. I had been a victim of bullies when I was in junior classes and so I was very strong in my determination to wipe out any form of bullying and other forms of oppression prevalent then among the senior students. In line with my determination. I set up the students' secret police (SSP) whose identity was known to me and the members of staff only. These students were very vigilant and all unruly behaviours exhibited by any student were reported for appropriate disciplinary actions. Through this measure, I was able to exterminate such evil or bad anti-social behaviours from the school. Today, bullying has become a thing of the past.
My distinguished audience. "a tree". an adage says "does not make a forest". These achievements could not have been possible without the co-operation of my fellow prefects who worked assiduously and tirelessly to make sure that we realise our dream. My thanks also goes to the school authorities, members of staff of the school and the entire students . I sincerely thank you for your cooperation and encouragement. Finally, I thank this gathering for listening attentively to my speech.
Dele Farayola
(Out-going Senior Prefect 1990.)