Job Osazuwa
It was a day of joy and excitement recently at The Vale Tutorial College (TVTC), Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
The school was marking its 10th anniversary as well as celebrating its bright students, two of whom had come out in flying colours in their Cambridge Advanced Level examinations.
The school used the opportunity to renew its mission and resolve to continue to raise stars that would make Nigeria proud.
The champions were John Pius-Obayemi, an Atinuke Ige scholar, and Fatihi Abdulmalik. Pius-Obayemi stood out among his colleagues by acquiring three A stars in Physics, Mathematics and Chemistry, achieving the best result, while Abdulmalik also got A stars in Sociology, Economics and Mathematics, to achieve second best result.
Describing the feat as a turning point for them, the students said that they would forever remain grateful to the school for its qualitative education and for bringing out the best in them.
A first-time visitor to the TVTC in New Bodija, Ibadan, would be greeted by an edifice painted grey and white. Managers of the school have described it as the citadel of learning where champions are moulded.
The college was established 10 years ago by Mrs. Funso Adegbola, daughter of the late Attorney-General, Bola Ige. An offshoot of The Vale College, TVTC is an independent entity established to prepare students to be mature for university admission as A-level students. It is also a pathway to foreign universities and 200 level in Nigerian universities.
This year’s result was not the first time that the college would put Oyo and Nigeria on the global academic achievements map. In 2014, Maryam Adeyanju scored A stars in Chemistry, Physics and Biology, and emerged with the best result. In 2015, Boluwatife Adewale also got A stars in Chemistry, Physics and Biology, while AbdulHammed Babatunde achieved the same feat in 2017 in Chemistry, Physics and Biology. In 2019, Joel Christiana also achieved A star as well as B’s in Sociology, Literature and History, respectively.
The school management, on August 15 rolled out the drums to celebrate the graduating students at the New Bodija campus of the school, in compliance with government’s directive on COVID-19 protocols.
“I feel the aims and mission of TVTC are being achieved, it is a journey, not a destination, and we are definitely on the right path. The vision was to provide an enabling environment for lifelong learning, training and nurturing leaders with the right kind of values,” Adegbola said.
She stated that the uniqueness of the school was spurred by a combination of factors, including passion and commitment: “With our students achieving high grades, we are a full-fledged school, with effective online classes, especially during COVID-19. Parents do not have to worry whatsoever about the well-being and safety of their children.
“Here, students have leadership training sessions every weekend; there are sessions on character development and there are mentoring sessions between the alumni and the current students. Students have entrepreneurship training at weekends, learning different skills like bead-making, make-up and fashion designing, among others.”
She also spoke on the Atinuke Ige Scholarship, which has continued to bring succour to brilliant students from public schools in Oyo State. She said the initiative was a way of giving back some of the values she imbibed from her late parents.
Said she: “I started the Atinuke Ige Scholarship in 2013 for students who finished their West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in public schools in Oyo and Osun states. One of the cardinal points of my father’s party then, Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), was free education for all at all levels.
“My parents believed in education not only for their biological children, but education of other people’s children. They have three biological children but raised over 300 children. I just thought I couldn’t do free education like my father was able to do when he was governor. I know my mother too gave scholarships to people while she was alive.
“The past winners, Boluwatife Adewale and Maryam Adeyanju, are currently at the University College Hospital (UCH) studying Medicine and Surgery. Some of our alumni are studying in England, apart from those in Nigeria. I believe in vision of quality education for all Nigerian children, irrespective of their backgrounds.”
Adegbola, the reporter learnt, started the annual scholarship scheme in memory of her late father, Bola Ige, for children in public schools. Every year, she gives a scholarship for the best boy and girl through written and oral examinations. The best two then get scholarship worth N12 million for the six-year post-primary education. The scholarship is said to have transformed many lives from less affluent backgrounds.
Besides the achievements of the upper arm, the sister school, The Vale College, founded 26 years ago, has also broken many records.
Apart from excelling in WAEC, a former student of the school, Yewande Akinola, got an award from Queen Elizabeth II in 2012 for being one of the best female engineers under 30 in the United Kingdom.
Pius-Obayemi, a former student of Command Day Secondary School, Odogbo, Ibadan, gave kudos to the convener of Atinuke Ige Scholarship for putting smiles on the faces of boys and girls from indigent homes. He scored six As, 1B and 2Cs in his WASSCE examinations.