Wale Jagun
-Trains 150 students for 2024 JAMB
The management of the Dr Akinola Ogunlewe Steam Education Centre (AOSTEM Centre) has revealed that its long term plan is to encourage more students from Igbogbo to graduate from sciences and have more professionals in the field.
This mission of the Centre was made known at the second edition of its orientation programme organized for the JAMB students at 1, Adeseye Ogunlewe Street, Apalura where the centre was located in Igbogbo, during the week.
Welcoming the JAMB students, Alhaji Quddus Oduntan, Director, AOSTEM Centre, said that the idea behind it was to encourage students to study sciences and increase the number of graduates in Igbogbo, in that area.
He said that AOSTEM has been working towards achieving its plans from the first year of its establishment with the support that it has been giving to students in their JAMB examinations, as well as computer training and support for admission of students into model colleges.
Alhaji Oduntan added that they are ensuring that a good foundation is laid for the students so as to have more students graduating as doctors, engineers and from other fields of sciences.
“Because we are interested in the foundation of our children’s education, we started entrance examinations for pupils in all the primary schools that we have in Igbogbo/Bayeku LCDA”, he said.
“We asked them to give us at least four students who are brilliant, and we were able to get 40 pupils across the Igbogbo/Bayeku LCDA, whom we organized an examination for at our centre. At the end, five pupils did very well.
“The five were sponsored by this centre for the Common entrance examination into model colleges and by and large, four of them passed very well and they made it into model colleges.
“We didn’t stop there; the students were given scholarship which they are going to enjoy throughout their secondary school education”, AOSTEM Director said.
He said that so far, the centre has trained 28 students in many aspects of computer and also partnered the Igbogbo Students’ Union in tutoring WAEC and GCE students.
“After that, we decided to engage our students after their WAEC and JAMB examinations in the study of computer instead of sitting down at home and doing nothing. We have been able to train 28 students in Igbogbo/Bayeku LCDA, to be computer literate”, he said.
“Our computer training usually runs for three good months and we presented them with certificate at their graduation ceremony. Today, they are all doing very well “, he added.
He also listed WAEC and GCE tutorial classes in collaboration with the Igbogbo Students’ Union, for students who were trained by seasoned teachers, and graphic and artificial programming for the second batch of the centre’s computer training.
The AOSTEM Director also said that the centre is also sponsoring the university education of some of the JAMB students trained by the centre.
Hon. Yinka Ogunlaja, Coordinator, AOSTEM Centre, speaking to our reporter, said that the idea behind the establishment of the centre is to provide intervention in exposing students in Igbogbo to computer operations.
“It was born as a result of the state of emergence in the sciences and access of our students to computer. JAMB, as examination, is strictly CBT, and most of our students are not expose to computer”, he said.
“It is not that most of our students don’t know what to do, but the problem is not having access to computer system, and that is why AOSTEM centre came as an intervention to fill that void”, he added.
The AOSTEM Coordinator also expressed confidence that the students tutored for JAMB will perform very well in the ongoing examinations.
“I can’t be more optimistic that they are going to come out better because last year, it was more like a training session and it was outstanding. So now that we are inputing more knowledge into them, we are not expecting less”, he said.
“We are more optimistic that the impacts of this year’s tutorial will be better than that of last year.
“They should be themselves as trained in tutorial and CBT. They have been exposed to examination situations, they should go all out there and do the needful. We are very sure of the students that we are sending out”, Hon. Ogunlaja added.
An educationist who orientated the students on how JAMB questions should be answered and time management, advised them to locate their centre before the examination dayand be at the place at least an hour before the examination commences.
Comr. Abdulsalam Tijani, President, Igbogbo Students’ Union (ISU), appreciated the AOSTEM management team and sponsor for making impact on students and youths generally in lgbogbo and it’s environs.
He also advised the students to be focus on their studies and remember the centre and Igbogbo Community in future when they become somebody in life.
One of the JAMB trainees, Adejola Hikman, a student who said that she can score above 250 marks, also added that she learnt about how to approach questions and gain confidence.
“I can score above 250, because I wrote JAMB last year and I was a bit exposed and knew where to put in more training. I started preparing for this year’s JAMB last year and still does up till now”, she said.
“I have finished my syllabus for English, Biology, Physics and Chemistry. I am confident in myself.
“I have known one thing today that one should be sure of at least two or three subjects out of the four which one must start with to boost one’s confident. I think that was part of what affected me last year. I was thinking that starting with Chemistry and Physics that I was not really good at would help me”, she said.
Ogunlaja Goodness, another student, also speaking, said:
“I have been listening to a lot of sensitization and one thing that I have learnt is to be myself since you have prepared. Go out there and do your best and allow God intervene”, he said.
“There is no need for over excitement and anxiety. Once you can be able to be calm and put yourself together, one will be able to come out very well”.
