Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the executive governor of Lagos State has expressed satisfaction with the state’s students’ excellent academic performance in recent times.
Sanwo-Olu said the excellent academic performance of Lagos State students is evident in the last West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) result with over 85 percent excellent performance compared to past years.
According to Folasade Adefisayo, the commissioner for education, Lagos State, who represented the governor at the national finals and award ceremony of the 61st independence anniversary of the President’s Inter-Basic Schools Debate competition, said the competition would foster national peace and unity;
“This is as a result of the huge investment in conducive infrastructure, training, and retraining of teachers to boost effectiveness and efficiency for a qualitative teaching method and learning in the 21st century in tandem with the Education and Technology pillar of the T.H.E.M.E.S. agenda.”
In his keynote address at the occasion, the governor disclosed that his administration had delivered 1,449 school infrastructure projects with the recently commissioned Elemoro Junior Secondary School.
Sanwo-Olu counselled the students not to rest on their laurels in achieving success in academics and extra-curricular activities, adding that the greatest premium of any state is the development of its students academically.
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The governor also applauded the federal government for initiating the debate competition to foster social stability and self-reliance among students in Nigeria.
“The president’s inter-basic schools debate competition will enable students to easily integrate and exchange academic, intellectual, and cultural values for the betterment of the nation at large,” he said.
Besides, he reiterated that the championship will also build the spirit of sportsmanship, public speaking and confidence, and capacity development for the students’ future endeavours.
Dare Oritu, the national coordinator of President’s Schools Debate Nigeria, disclosed that the three-day rigorous intellectual exercise would help groom young debaters for future competitions such as the annuals; international debate competition.
Hammid Bobboyi, the executive secretary of Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), represented by Isiaka Kolawole, the deputy executive secretary of UBEC, noted that the gradual disappearance of debate in basic schools had caused more harm than good, giving room for unhealthy rivalry and other social vices in the system.
“The need to sustain the art of public speaking cannot be overemphasised as a co-curricular activity that boosts students’ oratory skills, and as such must be upheld,” he said.
Kwara State won the first prize at the end of the national finals, beating Katsina State and Lagos State to second and third positions, respectively.
The national finals had 10 teams that battled for the top place. The finalists were; Abia, Akwa Ibom, Katsina, Imo, Ogun, Cross River, Benue, Kwara, Lagos states, and the police team.
Esther Ezenya from Lagos State got the best speaker award while the award for the best-behaved team in the competition went to the police team.
