She walked to the
dais with a confident gait, her face a picture of perfect bliss.
Donning a white blouse with pink stripes atop a dark skirt, Janet
Tolulope Falokun was simply rapturous and she couldn’t hide it. It was
her day and she was enjoying it to the fullest.
The 17-year-old erstwhile student of St. Louis Secondary School, Ondo,
Ondo State, had emerged the best candidate in the 2011 West African
Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), topping the chart
with distinctions (A1) in all the nine subjects she sat for.
It was the day
the state government was celebrating the sterling performance of the
brilliant teenager.
Besides her feat at the WASSCE, Tolulope also scored 290 in the 2011
UTME and emerged the second overall best student in the Post-UTME
conducted by the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife with 336 marks. She
has since been admitted to study Law at the institution.
At the event, which took place at her Alma Mater in Ondo, it was a
celebration of excellence.
Her proud
parents, school principal and other officials of the school as well as
selected students were all waiting for the young genius who rode to the
venue in the official vehicle of the state Commissioner for Education,
Mr. Remi Olatubora. The state governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko was
represented by Commissioner for Information, Mr. Kayode Akinmade.
At the event, everyone spoke glowingly of her. And as a result of her
hard work, Tolulope would be enjoying a full scholarship while studying
Law at the Obafemi Awolowo University.
She would also
benefit from the state government’s annual bursaries as well as other
packages provided for Law students both in the University and the Law
School by the state government.
But it isn’t just Tolulope that is currently being celebrated across
Ondo State. Naturally, many people in the state as well as government
officials are also celebrating what they term the critical interventions
of the state government in the education sector in the last three
years, interventions they insist are currently yielding positive
results.
At the event,
Olatubura noted that Tolulope’s achievements were the justification and
evidence of the Olusegun Mimiko administration’s radical intervention in
the education sector in the last three years. He said the
administration has exhibited its determination to invest massively in
the area of education with its construction of mega schools across the
state and other programmes in the sector.
“Tolulope Falokun’s brilliant performance is the first fruit of our huge
and massive investment in the educational sector in the last three
years.
We are creating
unparalleled conducive environment for our pupils and teachers. And this
has resulted in Tolulope Falokun, a student of a public school in Ondo
State emerging the best,” the commissioner stated.
Days after the presentation, officials of the state government are still
quite exultant.
Mr. Kayode Akinmade, Commissioner for Information said Tolulope’s
achievements had shown clearly that the state governor, Dr. Olusegun
Mimiko, had been doing a yeoman’s job in the education sector since he
climbed the driver’s seat in the state in February 2009.
Akinmade informed
the reporter that the Mimiko administration had been very focused on
the education sector in the last three years.
“Before Governor Mimiko came on board, the fortunes of Ondo State had
nosedived considerably in the education sector,” he said. “Before then,
only 21 percent of pupils in the state managed to have five credits in
the various subjects, including English and Mathematics, in WAEC and
NECO exams.
Today, that
figure has risen to 35 percent. And Mr. Governor is determined that
before the end of his administration, we would have achieved 70
percent.”
Akinmade said the government’s commitment to raising the standard of
education among Ondo indigenes and residents informed its decision to
build mega schools across the state.
The commissioner also said all mega schools built by the state
government had been equipped with first class grade computer facilities,
including audio–visual laboratories that would make pupils to be
exposed to physical representation of teaching.
He said although
Mimiko had always been determined to turn the fortunes of the state
around, the decision to change the face of public schools came more
promptly following a tragic incident that occurred at the government
owned-All Saints Anglican Primary School, Oke-Ijebu, Akure. Structures
in the school, like in many other public schools in the state, were in a
dilapidated condition, with no fence around the premises. Armed robbers
and other hoodlums made the premises of the school the storehouse for
their arms and ammunition.
“There was a day
an incident happened. Some of the pupils found a cache of arms kept
behind the school toilet by some robbers. They took a gun, which they
thought was a toy, and the pupils started playing with it until one
mistakenly pulled the trigger. The bullet hit another pupil on the chest
and he died instantly. Other dangerous weapons were later found by the
police in the school. When the governor visited the school on a
condolence visit, he said the incident was made possible by the porous
nature of public schools in the state.
He then vowed
that he would build schools that would provide the right atmosphere for
studying across Ondo State. Today, the All Saints Anglican Primary
School has since been transformed into a 21st century model school,” the
commissioner stated.
Akinmade said the Mimiko administration has spent over N500 million on
the rehabilitation of public schools and on the provision of adequate
security, adding that the government has since created a conducive
atmosphere for teaching and learning.
