EKOEXCEL pupils happy over resumption

The pupils of EKOEXCEL, an innovative digital initiative launched by the Lagos State Government in 2019 to transform public primary schools with oversight from the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (LASUBEB), have expressed happiness over resumption of the 2022/2023 academic session as they target better performance in their respective schools.

Speaking after the first full week of resumption, the pupils, especially those promoted to Primary 6, said they were determined to end their primary education on a bright note with excellent results in their terminal examination.

“I’m now a senior, and I want to encourage my juniors while ensuring that my last year in primary school is good. I want to pass the National Common Entrance Examination. We will write next year well. I want to do better than two of our
Seniors, Ayomide Daniel Ajayi and Damilola Basit Araba, who were among the best three in last session in Lagos,” said John Taiwo, a pupil of Hussey Military Yaba, Lagos Mainland.

Another Primary 4 pupil of the school, Duru Eke, said he wanted to do better and take advantage of the learning innovations introduced in the school since the programme started there.

He said, “Our teachers have made learning more interesting for us since our school joined the initiative with various kinds of fun games. My hope this session is to do better than the last set.”

Also speaking about their expectations for the new session, their teachers said they were eager to do more to improve their pupils to make them well rounded in line with the aspirations of the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

An assistant head teacher at Lagos State Model Nursery and Primary School, GRA, Ikeja, Mrs. Bolaji Caroline, said, “One of the reason Sanwo-Olu introduced the programme was to have impactful education for the pupils and ensure
they have solid foundation for the future. We are a critical part of that vision and happy to give our best to our pupils to ensure they continue to do well.”

Parents, who recently commended EKOEXCEL achievements at a parent-teacher conference held on July 22 at all 1011 public schools in Lagos, also spoke of their hopes for the session, saying they want their children to do better.

“I’m happy with how EKOEXCEL has improved my children, particularly the younger one, who struggled at the beginning of the last session. By the time they vacated, we had noticed an improvement in his literacy and numeracy skills, and we expect much more of this in this new session,” a parent, Mrs. Oyin Ojo, said.

Another, Mr. Garba Hassan, said he did not regret withdrawing his children from the private school where they were attending at the beginning of the 2021/2022 session, following awareness campaigns by the initiative.

“Truth be told, I was struggling with the huge fees for my three children in the private school where they were before I moved them to the school, and I’m happy I did it. Now, they are receiving quality education without any holes in my pockets. I am happy with the improvements I saw in the last session, and I hope it would continue this new one.”

Last session, three pupils from the state excelled in the National Common Entrance Examination (NCEE) for admission into the first year of Junior Secondary School of Federal Unity Colleges, while the overall best student in the NCEE conducted by the National Examinations Council (NECO) scored 201 out of 210, three pupils of Lagos public Primary schools were just five points behind.