Stephen Olufemi Oni, Ilorin
The management of Baraje Centre for Arabic and Islamic Studies, Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, has lamented the adverse effect of fuel subsidy removal on their students’ performance in the just concluded academic session.
The management said the inability of parents to regularly transport their children and wards to the Centre for lectures due to astronomical hike in transportation fare adversely affected their performances in the examinations.
The Centre, owned by the former Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje, had been transporting students free of charge until the removal of fuel subsidy, with the attendant hike in fuel pump price.
In his address at the 2022/2023 graduation of the Centre held in Ilorin on Saturday, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the institution, Justice Solihu Muhammed said: “The 2022/2023 academic session has witnessed a lot of absenteeism from both pupils and students due largely to non- availability of the Centre’s transportation, either due to breakdown of our vehicles or insufficient fuel to make two or three trips for the day as a result of which parents and guardians often asked their wards/children to remain at home instead of assisting them with transport fare to attend classes.
“The effect of this attitude of non- attendance of classes has shown clearly on the promotion examination results with the highest recorded failures of Centre since inception.
“It’s therefore, on this note that the board is seeking the cooperation and assistance of parents/ guardians to ensure day-to-day attendance of their wards/ children in classes so as not to have unwanted failures this outgoing session.”
The Board Chairman, who said a total of 139 students were graduating, restated the commitment of the Centre to producing leaders that are morally and spiritually upright.
The Proprietor of the Centre, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje, thanked the staff and management of the school for their commitment to sound moral spiritual education, adding that there was the greater need for the stakeholders to provide the Nigerian youths with sound moral and spiritual education to enable them grow up to becoming responsible citizens.
Baraje also congratulated the graduands, urging them not to relent in the pursuit of academic excellence.
He said it was inspiring that four of the academic staff of the Centre recently bagged Ph.D in various disciplines.
Ends
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