The Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (LASUBEB) has introduced a post-primary counselling initiative for parents and guardians with children in primary six through its Excellence in Child Education and Learning (EKOEXCEL) programme.
The EKOEXCEL was tailored on how to prepare for their children’s transition from primary six to secondary school.
The primary six counselling initiative was introduced at the just concluded Parent-Teachers conference held across the 1012 public primary schools in Lagos.
Wahab Alawiye-King, the executive chairman of LASUBEB in his speech said that the initiative has common entrance preparatory lessons which are delivered via teachers’ computers daily.
According to him, “These lessons mirror the expectations of the different kinds of examinations required for any education pathway.
“EKOEXCEL also conducts a Unified Mock Common Entrance Examination from the third term of primary five. This means that a primary six child would have had several examination opportunities to practice before the actual examination in primary six.
“Finally, EKOEXCEL bridges literacy and numeracy gaps by delivering supplementary lessons so that all children with foundational issues can resolve those gaps, read adequately and be prepared for secondary school success.”
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The executive chairman reiterated that it is part of Lagos State’s effort to continue delivering life-changing education for all pupils, and that it would also help parents and guardians decide early about the education pathway for their children and wards.
The technical support team of the initiative, alongside some teachers present at the conference explained why parents needed to be well informed about available secondary schools and how EKOEXCEL prepares pupils for life and learning at the higher school.
Parents were also informed of their children’s five main secondary school options, the requirements for each and assessing the pupils’ academic ability.
The five main options shared with parents at the forum were federal unity colleges, Lagos State model colleges, Lagos State community schools, military secondary schools and private secondary schools.
The facilitators also enlightened parents on specific examinations that qualify students for each secondary school, including the Lagos State Placement Test (LSPT), Lagos State Screening Test (LSST) for model colleges, National Common Entrance Examination (NCEE) for federal unity schools, and military and private school examinations.
Some parents who attended the conference commended EKOEXCEL for the primary six post-primary counselling initiative, noting that it was informative and would assist them in making good choices for their children.
Modupe Omotayo, a parent with two children at CMS Primary School, Bariga, shared her experience thus; “the session was very informative. I expect my children to perform excellently, and they should come out with flying colours in their external exams.”
For Sunday Taiwo, a parent with five children in the same school, “the conference was okay. It helped me pick the type of school my children would attend. I must commend the EKOEXCEL method for teaching my children.”
Uchechi Obinwa, a mother with two children at Deacon Adelaja Primary School, Bariga applauded the organisers and explained that she learnt how to process the school of her choice and expects her children’s performance to improve with Lagos State’s introduction of EKOEXCEL.
Since its inauguration in 2019 by Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the governor of Lagos State, EKOEXCEL being operated by LASUBEB with technical support from the global edtech platform, New Globe, has increased learning gains among Lagos pupils and upskilled over 90 percent of primary school teachers in the state.
