Imo Secondary Schools Fail To Make WAEC Exam Chart

In the just concluded West African Examination Council (WAEC) national
grading and rating of top 100 secondary schools across the federation
which is an annual event, Imolites have expressed concern and
disappointments that no government-owned secondary school in the state
be it state or federal was shortlisted.

Since the inception of the rescue mission government of Governor
Rochas Okorocha and his much-publicised free education policy at all
levels, pundits have consistently berated the said free education
policy in the state and its quality. Many Imolites have been of the
view and opinion that the free education is fictitious and lacks
merit, while some have said it is a free education that is bereft of
class and standard.

The views of those who are of these opinions have been vindicated by
the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) list
of exclusive top 100 secondary schools nationwide, where no
government-run secondary school in Imo State was shortlisted, not even
the Rochas Foundation College in Imo State.

Speaking to our correspondent, one Mr. Chibuike Ezeala, an
educationist, expressed concerns and disappointment that Imo State,
which used to be ranked high in the whole federation in terms of
education, is now plummeting. He attributed this falling standard of
education in the state to the poor quality of teachers in the
secondary schools.

Mr Chibuike Ezeala, said that the free education policy, if there is
one on ground, should have fostered academic excellence in the state,
for which the state has been known for in the past. Making reference
to the WAEC exclusive top 100 secondary schools for the year 2014, he
questioned why no school in Imo State was among even the first fifty
shortlisted. He however congratulated Marist Brothers Juniorate,
Uturu, in Abia State, who came fourth in the rankings for salvaging
the reputation of the South-East.

The renowned educationist therefore called that it is high time the
missionaries took over the running of the schools in the state, adding
that out of the first fifty in the rankings, only one government
secondary school made the cut at 12th position, which is Airforce
Comprehensive Secondary School, Uyo in Akwa Ibom State, while the
prestigious St. Peter Claver Seminary, Okpala in Ngor Okpala, Imo
State came 48th.

According to the rankings, the top 100 schools for the 2015 Awards
includes: Lumen Christi International High School, Uromi, Edo State,
Loyola Jesuit College, Wuse FCT, Igbenedion Secondary School, Okada,
Edo State, Marist Brothers Juniorate, Uturu, Abia State, Grundtvig
International Secondary School, Oba Anambra, Oritamefa Baptists Model
Secondary School, Ibadan, Oyo State, Olashore Int'l School,
Iloka-Ijesha, Osun State, The Ambassador's College, Ota, Ogun State,
Presentation National High School, Benin City, Edo City and Nigerian
Turkish International College, Kaduna.

Mr Ezeala, while speaking on the way forward to raise the falling
standard of education in the state, suggested that the schools should
be handed over to the missionaries whom he said manage school systems
better than the government.

—Trumpeta