• School proprietor reveals the secret of making top grades in WASSCE and other public exams
By Chika Abanobi
At the recent valedictory service of Pacific Comprehensive College, held, at the school premises located at 1-3, Ola Ogundipe St., Bammeke, Shasha, Akowonjo, Lagos, under the distinguished chairmanship of Mr. Kayode Adebayo, Proprietor, Kayo High School, Isolo, Lagos, the proprietor of the school and chairman, board of trustees, Remi Omosowon, revealed the secret of making top grades in West African Second School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and other public exams.
Using his school in which two of the 64 students who sat for the May/June WASSCE this year made B2 in English, 16, B3, 17, C4, 15, C5, 13, C6, with no one recording pass or failure, except one case of withheld result, as a case study, Omosowon attributed the success recorded to the fact that different teachers are employed to teach various aspect of the subject, namely, grammar, phonology and summary and comprehension, and they do it in such a complementary manner that, at the end of the day, make the students well grounded in the subject. “Year after year this experience had gotten richer and richer,” he remarked in his address.
The same thing, he says, applies to almost all the subjects. And, truly, the method seems to be paying off. A further analysis of his school’s result for this year’s WASSCE showed that 11 of his students made A1 in mathematics, 6, B2, 22, B3, 11, C4, 7, C5, 4, C6 and 2, D7 (which could be termed weak pass). But like in English, there was no failure, except one case of withheld result.
The school had its highest number of A1 in civic education (44). This was followed by government (19), ICT and book keeping (17 respectively). Except in Further Math where it recorded 8 failures or F9, its students scored high in the other grading between B2 and C6, in the 19 subjects they registered for. Apart from the aforementioned subjects, others include biology, economics, chemistry, physics, Literature in English, accounts, C.R.S, technical drawing, agric. science, commerce, Yoruba and geography.
In his address titled “The Future Is In Your Hands, So Soar Like An Angle,” and presented on the occasion, Omosowon urged the graduating students to, among other things, be creative within their fields and to add value, noting that the college has equipped them for success and with tools with which to take on the world. “To wish you success is to miss the point because success is not an event, it is a journey,” he said. “To succeed in the journey of life is to be able to use those tools effectively.”
Adebayo, chairman of the occasion later presented his and guest speaker’s addresses (Prof. Yemi Akegbejo-Samsons of University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, was originally scheduled to deliver the guest speech, but he reportedly couldn’t make it because of other engagements of the day).
The chairman, at the beginning of his own address expressed surprise that none of the graduating students want to be a teacher in future. His remark followed his discovery from the programme booklet that detailed courses of study each student wants to pursue and what they eventually want to become in future. While nine of the students want to be “lawyer,” and seven of them, “medical doctor,” others want to become various professionals like mechanical engineer, petroleum engineer, civil engineer, electrical engineer, pediatrician, gynaecologist, neurosurgeon, biochemist, surgeon, actress, journalist/presenter, quantity surveyor, geologist/footballer, accountant, artiste, musician, computer scientist, computer programmer, computer engineer, software engineer, sociologist, bus administrator, architect, pilot, politician and chief
“There’s none among you that wants to be teacher?,” Adebayo asked. “That’s very funny.” But he remarked, all the same, that it is good that they take to any field of study where they think they can be their best. “You are about to open a new chapter, a chapter that will begin as soon as you step into the university,” he told the graduating students.
Put God first, he urged. Morning assembly is not for ritualistic purpose, he said, but to grow them into better citizens of the country. “It is only what is built on solid foundation that can stand. Ensure your connection is fixed on God.”
Second, he told them that prayer is important but warned that it is not to be used, as he described it, as “spare tyre.” Any time spent in communing with God, he said, is a time well spent.
Thirdly, he asked them to maintain very good relationship with their parents. “You will make new friends but you must not forget the old saying that old broom sweeps better. Make sure your parents remains No. 1 in your life,” he counseled.
Four, friends make or mar your future, no matter your constitution, he opined. “That’s why many people will tell you, show me your friends and I will tell you who you are.” Friends, he said, are elevators: they will either take you up or bring you down. Don’t make friends that will bring you down, he counselled. “Make friends that will make you to soar like the eagle.”
Stand for excellence in all you do, he further advised before adding that, “once you are afraid of any course you will never be able to do well in it. Read well and always prepare. Proper preparation, he said, prevents poor performance. Pay attention to lectures. Get closer to students who are good in particular courses. If you are going to participate in lectures, make sure you are very attentive. If you don’t like a teacher there’s no way you can do well in his or her subject or course. There’s no one destined to get F9. Hard work does it.
Lastly, he noted, engage group discussion. When you meet, exchange ideas but with regard to personal study, you don’t have to emulate or copy other people’s style. You could develop your own unique style.
In saying this he echoed the school proprietor, Omosowon, who had earlier urged the students in his address, to “follow your passion, stay true to yourself; never follow someone else’s path unless you are sure that path coincide with yours, do not follow the crowd or join the bandwagon of doing things without considering the implications.”