Ben Agande – Kaduna

The Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, has decried the skewed admission policy of the nation’s unity schools, saying that it is no longer in tandem with the vision of its founding leaders.

Minister of Water Resources, Alhaji Suleiman Adamu

Speaking with journalists shortly after attending the 36th Plenary/Annual General Meeting of the Unity Schools Old Students Association(USOSA) at the Federal Government College, Kaduna, the minister said unity schools no longer promote the unity of the country because admissions into such schools are now skewed in favour of catchment area rather than national unity.

According to him , those who attended unity schools in the past had people from different parts of the country but that is no longer the case.

He said: “There is no state that I go to in this country that I don’t see my classmates that will host me and be ready to give me his bedroom to sleep. We are very happy with the concept.

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“But we need to redraw the map. We can go back to the original concept of unity schools. These days, the admission is a little bit skewed towards putting emphasis on catchment areas.

The minister advocated a return to the admission policy of the past in order to engender national cohesion.

In his speech, the President General of USOSA, Mr. Lawrence Wilbert, said greater attention should be paid to the girl-child education in the country.

He said: “Just yesterday, in Lagos, one of our member associations, Queens College Old Girls Association, in collaboration with a growing number of partners, launched an initiative called ‘The Girl Force Movement,’ a movement that respects, validates and encourages the girl-child, and enables her to have opportunities to be who they want to be without constraint, scripting or hindrance. I call on all USOSANs to join in support, and encourage the movement.”

Vanguard