Pupils Excited at Resumption, as EkoExcel Targets Improved Performance

Funmi Ogundare

As public schools in Lagos resumed for the 2022/2023 academic session, its pupils  have expressed excitement about it saying they are determined to improve on the last session’s academic performance in their respective EKOEXCEL schools.

EKOEXCEL is an innovative digital initiative  inaugurated  by the state government in 2019 to transform public primary schools with oversight from the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (LASUBEB).

Speaking after the first full week of resumption, the EKOEXCEL pupils, especially those that just got promoted to Primary six, 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 . I intend to study for and  pass the National Common Entrance  Examination ( NCEE)  we will be writing 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 Lagos last session,” said John Taiwo, a pupil of Hussey Military Yaba, Lagos Mainland.

Another Primary four pupil of the school, Duru Eke, said he wants to do better and take advantage of the learning innovations introduced in the school since EKOEXCEL commenced there.

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

On their expectations for the new session, the teachers stated  that they were eager to do more to groom their pupils and ensure they are well-grounded in line with the aspirations of the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

Mrs. Caroline Bolaji, an assistant headteacher at Lagos State Model Nursery and  Primary school, GRA, Ikeja , said, “one of the reasons Governor Sanwo-Olu introduced EKOEXCEL is to have impactful education for the pupils and ensure that they have a solid foundation for the future. We are a critical part of that vision and are happy to give our best to our pupils to ensure they continue to do well.”

Some Parents also commended EKOEXCEL’s tangible gains and  expressed their hopes for the session, saying that 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 this new session,” Mrs. Oyin Ojo, said.

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

“Truth be told, I was struggling with the huge fees for my three children in the private school they were attending before I moved them to the EKOEXCEL school, and I’m happy I did. 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 will continue this new one,” the business owner said.

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.