Adams College, a Lagos-based tutorial centre, recently celebrated its outstanding ambassadors at this year’s UTME. Dorcas Egede reports
IT was fan-fair and excitement, as the management of Adams College, Oshodi, Lagos, hosted students and parents in the third edition of their annual award and prize-giving ceremony recently. In his keynote address, Proprietor of the school, Adams Adebola, said, “We are here again, in our characteristic magnanimity, to honour our students, who by their unwavering resolve to excel, did not only beat the general benchmark of 200, but also stood out to score 300+ in the just concluded 2019 UTME.”
He said the outstanding students achieved this feat despite JAMB’s resolute determination to subject this year’s performance to an unusually painstaking scrutiny.
Noting that this is not the first time the tutorial centre will record such outstanding results, he reminded guests at the event that “in 2018, the college celebrated a total number of 86 students who stood out in the examination,” adding that beyond the high grades, no less than 200 students of the college were admitted into the University of Lagos alone in the last academic session, adding that Obafemi Awolowo University, University of Ibadan, University of Benin, and the rest also willingly opened their gates to many students from the college.
Despite the amount of failure recorded in the just conclude UTME, Adams noted that a good number of students from the college scored between 275 and 290, while 78 scored 300 and above. He added that, “Throughout Nigeria only 6,700 scored above 300 in the just concluded UTME, so when you have about 80 of this number from one tutorial centre, that’s a good percentage.”
Part of activities to mark the award ceremony was testimonies from students and parents alike. One excited mother, Mrs. Chimamkpa, mother of Chimamkpa Justice, who scored 300 in the just concluded UTME, said, “Adams is called to be a life-builder. He has changed my son’s life.”
Also, Mrs. Adeosun, whose son, Tolulope Adeosun scored 319, said she got wind of the school’s reputation in Ikorodu, where she lives and decided to enrol her son, despite the distance to the school’s Oshodi location.
Testimonies from the students revealed that aside teaching, teachers at Adams College are also very particular about character building. One of the students, Osikoya Solakiitan, said, “The way they teach us at Adams is unparalleled, it’s second to none. They put in a lot of effort to see that you understand what you’re being taught. They demystify all the mysteries in the subjects. When you see them put that much effort, you also want to make them proud, so we work hard.”
For Ololade Dipo-Ojo, “Adams is the best place to be. Yes, there is a crowd, but the way the teachers explain things, I’ve never seen that kind of thing. And the teachers have a very good relationship with you. They don’t only care about your academics; they care about your spiritual life and every area.”
On ground to present scrolls, medals and certificates were former students of the college who graduated with first class honours from various faculties and universities around the country.
The Best of the Best Awardee was 15-year-old Ishola Esther, who scored 339. Esther hopes to study Medicine and Surgery at the University of Ibadan. This was her second UTME. According to her, she scored 300 at the first attempt, but didn’t get admitted. She therefore went to Adams College in preparation for her second attempt and emerged the best student in the college.
Trailing Esther closely were Dipo-Ojo Ololade, 16 and Osikoya Solakiitan, 17 who both scored 337. Both want to study Medicine and Surgery at the University of Lagos. Like Esther, this was their second seating and they attest that it was their encounter with Adams College that made the difference.
Speaking with the media, Adams Adebola said, “I founded Adams College with the purpose of giving youths directions in life. I have discovered that many of them don’t really have that direction and they need someone to push them to achieve their dreams.”
Adams saw a vacuum between the secondary and university level and moved in to fill it. He said he wanted to meet the need of the teeming youth population who get out of secondary school and find it difficult to gain admission into the university. “There’s nothing bad about school setting, but most schools lack the capability to mentor students, they lack the capability to take students from the level of secondary school to the University, and that’s the vacuum I have been able to fill.
Asked how the institution sustains such level of success, Adams admitted that “It’s quite difficult. While other schools and students are thinking of malpractices, we ensure that our students have a solid foundation, such that even when they leave Adams, they can still make use of what they have gained. And the product has kept on speaking for itself, and that’s our motivation every year. Like this year, about 210 students from the college entered into the University of Lagos. I was at their matricula.