By Stanley Amadi
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.
