BY DAYO JOHNSON

AKURE —  THE Federal government, yesterday, expressed deep concern over the poor performance of students of Federal Government Colleges, FGCs, across the country in national examinations.

President Goodluck Jonathan

It declared that principals of the colleges would henceforth be held accountable for the performances of the students in examinations such as WAEC, NECO and NABTEB.
Supervising Minister of Education, Nyeson Wike said this at this year’s Annual General Meeting, AGM, of Principals of Federal Unity Schools in Akure, Ondo State.
Wike said students’ performances in the colleges were worrisome despite government’s interventions.
He noted that “these colleges are some of the most resourced in the country, yet most of you have failed in your responsibility to transform them to enviable heights.
“I do not see any reason the best performing students all over the country should not come from the Federal Government Colleges.
“It is for this reason that we have moved to a merit based system of selecting and retaining principals only through competitive examinations and other performance evaluation processes.
“Apart from regular assessment to track progress, we intend to hold principals accountable to a new delivery agreement that meets our overarching goals of turning the colleges around in the best interest of the children, parents and the country as a whole.”
The minister declared that over 70 colleges nation-wide will within the next few weeks, have new libraries with e-facilities.
This, according to him, was to position the colleges as centres of academic excellence in basic education in the country.
The chairperson of the Conference of Principals of FGC, Mrs. Ijeoma Efobi highlighted problems in the colleges to include decaying infrastructure, lack of instructional materials and quality staff for many core subjects.
Efobi said that many FGCs are still going through trying times.
She, however, lauded the transformation agenda of the Federal Government, saying that some Federal Unity Coleges and Federal Science and Technology Colleges in 2012 and 2013 received a boost in their budgetary allocations.