Education Minister Calls For Equity In Admission To Unity Colleges

As Principals of the Nation’s 110 Unity Colleges converged on Benin city to kick-start this year’s admission, Education Minister, Adamu Adamu directed that they must be guided by the principles of fairness, equity and good conscience in the conduct of the admission.

In a message to the body of Principals handling the exercise, the Minister emphasized that every part of the country must be given a sense of belonging in the admission exercise.

He said that the process must reflect the ideals of the founding fathers of unity colleges as centers of academic excellence and models for states and private schools as well as instruments for National integration and unity.

Speaking at the opening ceremony on behalf of the Minister, the Director Senior Secondary Education, Binta Abdulkadir said that responsible citizens must be produced, then the rules must be adhered to in order to make the right choices of qualified candidates as a foundation for future academic excellence.

The Minister reminded the principals that they should stick to the National policy of the ratio of one teacher to forty students per class in line with UNESCO regulations, adding that carrying capacity must be adhered to.

Adamu emphasized that candidates who have applied for admission into Unity schools outside of their immediate communities should be given priority.

The Minister directed principals to adhere strictly to the criteria for the selection which is 60 percent national merit, 30 percent equality of states and 10 percent exigency.

Earlier in her welcome address, the Chairperson of Principals of Federal Unity Colleges, who is also the Principal of Queens Collage Lagos, Yakubu-Oyinloye, said government’s guidelines on merit and equality of states will be followed strictly so as to get the best candidates for the nation’s unity colleges.

One of the highlights of the opening ceremony was a guided tour of the host college, Federal Government Girls College Benin.

The Principal of the College, Aghedo Osamudiame who led her colleagues on the guided tour said, the new look of the college was made possible courtesy of the intervention of the ministry.