“Hard ears pickney nyam rockstone” and “What you reap is what you sow” are two sayings which may be used to describe embattled Calabar students who have been discontinued from progressing to the eleventh grade. Parents and the education ministry have been scrambling to come to a middle ground with school principal Albert Corcho since his decision to discontinue tenth grade students who fail to meet the school’s performance criteria. Even though Corcho and his school board have been receiving backlash, I am lauding his administration and commitment to his word.
You see, Corcho did not just wake up one day with the epiphany to expel 11 boys from his institution. No. Speaking with Nationwide News last month, Corcho said an academic strategy was devised two years ago after the school’s executive board expressed displeasure in the academic performance of Calabar students. As a result, parents were invited to several PTA meetings where the school’s new program was discussed. Corcho is rubbishing claims that parents and students were uninformed of the new program. He said letters were sent to parents asserting that if students fail to attain a 60% pass mark and maintain good conduct, they would be banned from progressing to the eleventh grade and would have to transfer to another school or enrol in the school’s extended day programme. Parents were also sent letters with updates of any decline in performance, and even asked to meet with the vice principal with regards to the matter.
Education minister Ruel Reid should get off Corcho’s back and find other things to do with his time like investigate why these students were failing to begin with or use his time to impose measures to ensure every child meets the criteria. We should not be accepting mediocrity especially from our boys. If we allow it, what will their output be in college, the work place and society? As Corcho pointed out in the Nationwide interview, Calabar is an institution where GSAT students have to achieve an average of over 85% to be considered. Why then should these boys come and go through the system without maintaining even a 75% average?
The Calabar Old Boys Association have also assisted by hosting free Saturday classes where bus fare, food and beverage are provided, all these boys have to do is show up and according to Corcho most of them don’t. The school has resource labs and workshops are even held at a cost as additional mechanisms. If you have exhausted all your options in pushing for excellence and some students don’t even express an interest in attending the free classes, I say let them go. We mean them well, there is no malice behind it, but sometimes a change in environment can be beneficial to students. Parents ought to get on board and actually attend the meetings and be active in their child’s academic life to spot problems from early as a way to prevent these circumstances.
So kudos to Corcho for putting his foot down alongside other institutions like Munro College (where he was also the principal) for going above and beyond to ensure that students are performing well. And if you’re not with the program sweetheart, then be on your merry way.
Kohntext 