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By Gabriel Dike
The management and staff of Ferscoat International School, Ipaja, Lagos, has concluded plans to roll out the drums to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the school.
The school started as a coaching class in April 1991 but, because of demand by parents, was converted to full-fledged school (primary) in September 1992.
Addressing newsmen on the activities lined up for the 30th anniversary, the proprietor, Pastor Felix Opata, described education as the bedrock of any developing economy, stating, “no country can develop her human resources without quality education.’’
Opata said statistics in 2018 put Nigeria’s literacy rate at 62.2 percent, while, in the 2012 UNESCO record, Lagos State had 92 percent literacy rate. He attributed the increase to the involvement of private individuals in the provision of quality education.
Said he: ‘’Ferscoat School by all standards is one of the acclaimed names in the educational sector in Nigeria. Its transition to prominence has been a systematic process, which began in September 1992.
“This year marks the school’s 30 years of existence, having made positive impact in education within and outside the country in terms of its contribution to human capital development needs of the country.”
According to him, the school grew in infrastructure from rented block of four flats to two-storey building made up of 28 rooms, and to three-storey building with 40 classrooms, 12 offices, library, laboratories, 100-seater ICT lab, basic tech lab, two big halls and CCTV system powered by solar to monitor staff and students.
“As at September 29, our primary school is 30 years old. In these years, the primary school has graduated about 1,200 pupils, while the secondary school has turned out about 700 students. Currently, the primary school has about 300 pupils while the secondary school has over 700 students,” he said.
Opata disclosed that several of its graduates made First Class and Second Upper Division in the university because they were trained to be independent.
His words: “In fact, Ferscoat School does not assist its students in WAEC and NECO, as our niche is zero tolerance for examination malpractice.
“We have zero tolerance for exam fraud. I have never seen life exam questions. We sacked one of our staffs for helping our students. We mean business when we say we have zero tolerance for exam malpractice.”
The educationist tasked WAEC and NECO to monitor the activities of schools during exams, including supervisors sent to conduct the examinations.
The proprietor said, in the last UTME, its 10 best students scored 306, 304, 296, 291, 289, 286, 284, and 281 and stated that some have been offered admission in private universities.
He disclosed that, as part of the 30th anniversary, the school has awarded 10 tuition-free scholarships to Olude indigenes, while several students are on half scholarship for their outstanding academic performance.
On future plans, the proprietor revealed he intends to establish a similar school in Ghana and did not rule out venturing into private university.
Among activities for the anniversary include health check for staff, students, parents and the community on October 15, literary and debating event on October 21, health walk, visitation to orphanage, games and sports, community service, dedication/thanksgiving on December 14, 2023, art exhibition and church service on December 16.
In his remarks, the principal, Mr. Frederick Opata, who took newsmen round the facilities, said the school has developed security card for students to scan while entering and their parents get a message indicating they have arrived the school, including closing time.
The principal disclosed that 64 CCTV cameras have been mounted to monitors staff and students as well as for security purposes.
