IGBOZURUOKE MEDIA

By Emeka Igwe

The Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha has called for the removal of restriction on Mathematics and English Language as a criterion for Admission into tertiary institutions.

He stated this when the Registrar of the National Examination Council (NECO), Prof Abdul Rasheed Garba, and his men paid him a call at his office in Owerri.

Okorocha maintained that his government is committed to

improving the education standard in the State, and disclosed that Imo State is building a college of education at Ihitte Uboma, to improve the quality of teachers.

He also called on the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), and other admission bodies in the country to admit enough students in the states’ institutions of higher learning, and decried the situation where many qualified candidate from the state seeking admission into tertiary institution are denied admission in spite of their good results. He maintained that the state can boast of students who are always qualified for admission, adding that his administrations’ free and qualitative educational scheme is now really free.

The governor explained that good academic performances of students should be appreciated by all, stressing that with the introduction of free education, his administration intends to eradicate illiteracy in the state. He therefore urged the officials to help ensure that good performances are rewarded.

Earlier in his address, Prof. Abdul Rasheed Garba, noted that Imo State basic education performance has risen from 15% in 2011 to 76% in 2015. He disclosed that he had come to brief the governor on the outcome of the free education policy of the state, stressing that the board, which was established in 1999 to check examination malpractice intends to continue to excel in the conduct of resounding National Common Entrance Exams and the November/December Senior School Certificate of Examination, (SSCE).

However, he appealed for a sustained tempo on education sector, and commended Governor Okorocha for his free education scheme.

Mr. Garba, noted that as the first of its kind, the state recorded an impressive academic performance in English Language and Mathematics in the 2015 NECO exams.