Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s administration in Ekiti State has said that 16,167 out of 16,361 public Primary Schools pupils making 97.43% and 10,675 out of 10,859 (97.28%) pupils of Private schools in the State passed the 2024 Common Entrance/Placement Examination contrary to some media reports of purported mass failure.

In a statement made available to newsmen in Ado Ekiti, the State Commissioner for Education, Dr. Bimpe Aderiye described the report as a misconception.

Giving detailed analysis of the candidates’ performance, Dr. Aderiye stated that 16,361 pupils were examined out of the 16,593 that registered while 232 were absent, adding that 2,235 (13.47%) of the candidates scored between 200 and 299; 11,493 (69.26%) had between 300 and 399 in addition to 2,439 (14.70%) that scored between 400 and 500.

Aderiye who noted that there was no problem with the performance of the pupils, however stressed that the issue is about the capacity of candidates’ schools of choice and the respective cut-off marks, adding that the preference, concentration and insistence of some parents and guardians for certain schools, particularly the newly established Model Colleges and some schools considered reputable is creating a logjam.

According to her, the insistence of the parents and guardians that their children and wards attend the preferred schools led to having too many candidates than the schools can accommodate while several other schools still have spaces.

Reiterating the commitment of the Oyebanji administration to the provision of free and compulsory qualitative education up to Senior Secondary School level, she stressed that there is no reason for anyone to write off any school with the volume of interventions and developmental projects executed in all the 203 public schools in the State and Government’s favourable, proactive policies aimed at providing accessible, affordable, qualitative, functional and sustainable education for enlightenment and enterprise using emerging technology.

Aderiye assured that education in the State is now standardized and all schools are equipped to provide quality education for their students, adding that schools that may hitherto had less than good reputation have been transformed to global-standard teaching and learning environment with both personnel and state of art equipment.

She stated that “Government is partnering with reputable organizations including the World Bank using programmes like the Adolescent Girls’ Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE), Innovative Development & Effectiveness in the Acquisition of Skills (IDEAS) amongst others.

“930 subject teachers were recruited in public secondary schools in the year 2022-2024, 131 staff employed for the Board for Technical and Vocational Education (BTVE) in the year 2024, 150 security guards engaged to strengthen security in public secondary schools in the year 2023 and 43 Education Officers appointed in 2024 to enhance efficiency and boost service delivery.

“A sum of ₦14,293,424,499 had been expended on renovation and construction in 203 public secondary schools in Ekiti State, 44 classrooms were constructed and 1,084 renovated while 240 new Toilets were constructed and 132 renovated across the 203 public secondary schools in the 2023/2024 session, 32 new Boreholes were sunk and 8 rehabilitated across secondary schools during the 2023/2024 session as well as 18 libraries, 69 laboratories and 67 Halls renovated and or furnished and equipped.

“2,600 Computer devices, 2,978 furniture and interactive boards were also procured while perimeter fence constructed in 16 secondary schools”.

She stressed that the target is to ensure quality and functional education through sound policies and implementation, using e-learning, whole school monitoring, provision of conducive environment and regular capacity building of personnel for optimal learning outcomes.

The Education Commissioner therefore advised parents and guardians of pupils who did not meet the cut-off marks of the schools of choice to be more flexible with their choices of schools and, emphasizing that under the current dispensation, no school is inferior to another.

She added that affected parents should write or visit the State Ministry of Education to see the list of schools and available number of spaces for placement possibility for their children.