By Stephen Adeleye
The Kogi Government on Wednesday pledged to reward the overall best performing student in the ongoing Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) across the state.
The Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mrs Rosemary Osikoya, made the pledge after monitoring the commencement of the BECE in some of the primary and secondary schools in Lokoja.
According to Osikoya, the ministry’s Education Management Information System (EMIS) is already functioning and in the next few weeks, it would become optimally functional.
“Part of what we are doing is harnessing the management information system for all sector data particularly examination related data, which the ministry will be in control of.
“We will use the system to objectively analyze the performance of the best student, who should be rewarded as the examination progresses.
“This means we will be able to announce the overall best student in the 2018 BECE and subsequent examinations in Kogi, and give out awards to the best performing student,” she said.
Osikoya expressed excitement on the conduct of the examination in all the six schools she visited.
“I am excited that we are making progress; our efforts are yielding results, we are working hard to get it right.”
The Chairman of the State Science Technical Education and Teaching Service Commission (STETSCOM), Afolabi Raji, said that the ministry had done a good job in coordinating the basic certificate examination across the state.
“So far, I believe the schools are well prepared and the students are behaving well and giving good account of themselves. We will ensure that the examination is conducted without abnormalities,” Raji said.
A supervisor, Mrs Ify Nwaka, deployed to UBE Junior Secondary School, Holy Trinity, Lokoja, told journalists that the ministry had done a great job by the arrangement put in place to ensure hitch free examination for candidates.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the BECE is a certificate examination for basic education in both Primary and Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) across the state, which started on July 4.
Other government officials, who monitored the examination are: Moses Abara, Special Adviser on Education, Science and Technology, Adeyanju Iselewa, Senior Special Assistant on Secondary Education and Mr Enesi Ajoge, Senior Special Assistant on Private Institutions to Gov. Yahaya Bello.
NAN reports that the commissioner had on June 29, at a meeting with stakeholders warned principals, supervisors, teachers and students to shun all forms of examination malpractice, saying offenders would be prosecuted.
(NAN)
