It was celebration galore at the 10th graduation and valedictory ceremony of Iman Comprehensive College, Amuwo-Odofin, Lagos, recently.
The event did not only celebrate the outgoing SSS 3 students and the JSS3 students moving to the SS1but honoured the graduands with warm congratulations and send them on the way to their next level of life with a blessing and good wishes.
The principal, Mr Abubakar Dauda, said: “With our background of academic excellence, the students gave us an inkling of what to expect by making the college the overall best at the National Art Exhibition organised by the Federal Ministry of Arts and Culture for secondary school in Lagos among others.”
He charges the graduating students that their destiny is right in their hand: “We have given you a sound and a healthy pathway today, but it’s up to you now to determine your tomorrow. The personal competencies that got you here -assion, commitment, tenacity, open mind to learn – will be important throughout your lives.
“I urge you, therefore, worthy ambassadors of a school renowned for excellence, to go forth and blaze forth like stars that light the night. As agents of transformation, be sure to lead lives worthy of emulation and in all your future endeavours to be guided by truth. Go and accomplish the extraordinary for only the very best is good enough for you.”
Alhaji Ishola-Lemomu, the chairman of the school, commended the graduates for the impressive performance throughout their stay in the school, saying they achieved success because they persevered. He told them to always bear in mind that the road to success is always under construction and also cautioned them on the prevalence of suicide among youths. He explained that this can in most cases is attributed to the unrealistic academic expectation from parents:
“Some of the reason is not far-fetched, parents need to search deep within and realise the need to shift gear when expectation do more harm.
Parents can undermine their children performance, if we set our academic and expectations too high. While high parental aspirations can lead to an increase in academic achievement, studies have found that this will only occur when parents’ expectations are realistic.
“But where our aspirations exceed what our children could reasonably achieve, the adolescents’ achievement decline and this, in turn, could lead to the downsides such as disappointment, depression, a child becoming overly self-critical, become anxious, succumb to peer-pressure and ultimately contemplate suicide.”