The second phase of the free holiday lessons organised by the member representing Ibarapa Central and Ibarapa North Federal Constituency, Hon. (Dr.) Anthony Adebayo Adepoju, has come to an end for this year.
The initiative, which commenced in 2023, is part of the efforts of the lawmaker to enhance academic excellence in the federal constituency.
The free holiday lessons aim to keep senior secondary students both in public and private schools engaged, boost their academic performance by complementing the efforts of the Oyo State government and prevent them from roaming the streets during the long holiday break.
The lessons, which spanned five weeks, had the service of 42 experienced and qualified teachers in the two local government areas, a slight increase in the number of the facilitators for the purpose of efficiency compared to the first edition, which had 33 teachers.
The free holiday lessons recorded over 1000 students from across the five communities comprising the federal constituency. The examination to evaluate the performance of the students in the exercise took place on the last day of the lesson. Prior to the examination, the lawmaker had promised to pay for the WAEC registration of the best students in SSS3 in the assessment test with writing materials for those in SSS2.
According to the constituency’s coordinator of the exercise, who is also a teacher, Mr. Kamoru Ojewola revealed that the impact of the various educational initiatives of Hon. Adepoju reflected on the 2024 UTME and the recently released WAEC results of the students from the constituency compared to the UTME and WAEC results of the constituency before the emergence of the lawmaker. He noted that the April 2023 WAEC results were nothing to write home about, adding that it would be hard to see any student from the constituency, especially from public schools who used the results to process admission into any tertiary institution in the previous year, “but we are glad to see our students having good grades in the 2024 UTME and WAEC,” he said.
Mr. Ojewola also stated that despite the mass failure in the 2024 UTME results, a good number of students who participated and benefitted from the free UTME registration and lessons of the lawmaker scored above 200. Recall that in April this year, the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) revealed that 1.8 million students applied for the examination, but 1.4 million scored below 200.
Mr. Kamoru appreciated the lawmaker, his team and the free holiday lessons’ teachers for their demonstration of sheer community interests, which he said were instrumental to the success of the students in the constituency in various external examinations.
He further said that participants in the just concluded holiday lessons were tested on general, departmental, moral, academic and career development courses, emphasising that the students performed above average in the test.
In his words of appreciation, Hon. Adepoju congratulated parents and teachers in the constituency on the resumption of the students slated for Monday, September 16, 2024.
The lawmaker also extended his gratitude to the free holiday teachers, various community men and women who voluntarily went to the venues of the exercise to educate and enlighten the students in order to shape their academic pursuits. The lawmaker expressed that he felt happy with the report of the performance of the students of the constituency in the recently released WAEC results, congratulating the constituency’s teachers on their accomplishments, which he said would go a long way in contributing to the development of the region.
The Deputy Chairman of the House Committee on Federal Character, however, enjoined the students to continue to face their studies squarely as schools resume next week.
He also promised the students, whom he described as the shining leaders of tomorrow, more infrastructural projects in their various schools to bridge the infrastructural deficit in the constituency’s academic environment so as to enhance learning and put the constituency on the pedestal of growth and development.
