Mallam Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, stated that the administration was striving to stabilize the educational system in order to encourage parents to keep their kids enrolled in the nation’s tertiary institutions.
On Saturday, Shehu made this statement outside the 11th Graduation Ceremony of Glisten International Academy, Abuja.
Exponential Visibility: Breaking the Glass Ceiling is the ceremony’s theme.
The special assistant, whose own son is graduating from the institution, gave the kids advice on how to maximize their academic efforts.
“For the graduating students, I want to say that they have a major decision to make which is going to the next level in their education pursuit.
“You can see that a lot of foreign institutions are extending invitation to the students at discounted rate to study oversees.
” I will say that Nigerian Universities are equally as good and even better and we are hoping that we will be able to stabilise the university education in the country so that parents don’t have to pay exorbitantly to educate their children abroad.
“University education in Nigeria should be the best for our children,” he said.
Shehu urged parents to join the government in pleading with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to return to the classroom in response to the recent one-month extension of the union’s strike.
” It came like a bolt in the sky. We are shocked because it came at a time the president is giving full commitment to resolving the ASUU strike and having the students and teachers back in the school.
” The extension, I believe should not have been done because the spirit at which the government now is trying to resolve the problems of ASUU is such that there should also be a benefit of doubt in favour of the government on the part of ASUU,” he said.
He expressed his wish for an early settlement so that things might return to normal. He said the lecturers could go back to the classroom as the discussions about their problems continued.
“The strike is unnecessarily extended and this should not have been the case.
“I want to advise parents to join government in begging ASUU to end this strike as the government is doing its part and parents are worried and they should start talking to ASUU,” he added.
It’s high time for schools to adopt technology as a teaching tool, according to the school’s CEO, Hajia Samira Jibir.
Jibir exhorted the pupils to cherish themselves, their immediate community, and the wider world as well as to go forth and shine to a brighter future.
“If we are to get it right, then as stated by JohnDewey, ‘If we are to teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.”
“Our today is ruled by technology, we then must embrace and adapt to technological based education,” she said.
Charles Eneh, the school’s chief education management professional, added that the institution stood out from other groups of schools in the nation due to the cognitive and inclusive learning approach it employed.
Eneh claimed that the institution had seen graduates in the previous 11 years and as a result, operations had improved.
“It has been something that one can remember and I must tell you it’s been improving from year to year.
“Every year, there is something new and the quality of students we are producing is all about improvement.
“In Glisten International Academy, it’s not just the cognitive we look at, the psychomotor are also given importance. I must tell you, we operate an inclusive school, we practise differentiated learning and we make the students to think critically and bring out something.
When students traveled outside of the country to earn new credentials and skills, the school kept track of their academic progress, according to the Chief Care Professional, Mrs. Prisca Godwill.
Goodwill claimed that after completing their education abroad, the students also came home to aid in its growth.
“Most times when they leave the shores of the country, we have the alumni association so with this group, we actually monitor the progress of the students.
“One way or the other, we have what we call progress report and sometimes we get feedback from schools, calling directly and the response we get has been amazing,” she said.
As they were called out to receive honors for their great performances throughout their time in school, several of the best graduating students expressed their happiness.
The greatest graduating student overall, Mr. Ahmed Khalifa, thanked everyone who contributed in some way to his success.
“I am honoured for the opportunity I have gotten from everyone, both my parents, the management and staff of the school to the stage that we are.
“And we hope that in the higher institutions we will be able to manifest and become who we wish to be tomorrow,” he said.
In the overall category, Aasiya Siddiqui and Jemimah Oshadami placed second and third, respectively.
Some post-secondary universities, like the American University, Canadian University, Dubai, and Philomath University Abuja, among others, have given scholarships to students depending on their graduation rate.
