TREM calls for continuous improvement in education sector

AS secondary school students across the country continue to turn in their essays for this years Mike Okonkwo National Essay Competition with the topicSurvival of the Nigerian State: Economic and Political Implications, organizers of the competition have described as unsettling the poor academic performance of students across all levels of education.According to the organizations Corporate Affairs Officer, Mr. Olanrewaju Fabiyi who spoke to The Guardian recently, the state of the nations educational system continues to generate a lot of concern from both the private and public sector.It is no longer news that the standard of education in Nigeria keeps deteriorating day by day.  From the primary through secondary to higher institutions of learning, what we see today is poor academic performance due to lack of qualitative education system he said.He said the poor reading and writing culture of the countrys secondary school students and the sorry state of education in Nigeria have so far prompted the establishment of various educational contests amongst Nigeria students.Institutionalized by Dr. Mike Okonkwo, the presiding Bishop of TREM in 2004, he said the 8th Mike Okonkwo National Essay Competition is designed to motivate and encourage the Nigerian students to show seriousness towards their academics programmes.Dr. Mike Okonkwo is a man who believes in absolute development of mankind in all facets of life. He is confident that the Nigerian youth can compete favourably with their counterpart in developed nations if given the opportunity and are well motivated.Fabiyi also stated:Today, most of the past winners are doing very well in their various studies, both home and abroad. Feedback from schools and students have really proved that the competition is achieving its objective of improving studying and reading culture amongst the secondary school students.The competition is open to all Senior Secondary School Students across the nation.  For this year, gift items for the competition have been reviewed upward.  The winning school now stands the chance to win three internet-ready desktop computers, a printer and a trophy, while the best student goes home with a Laptop, N100, 000.00 cash prize and a memorial plaque. The first runner up school gets two Internet ready desktop computers, a printer and cash prize of N75, 000.00 with a plaque for the student. The second runner school gets an Internet ready computer, while the student gets N50, 000.00 cash prize and a plaque.A total of 4, 139 participants have so far participated in the last seven years and about N4, 729,599.00 has so far beenspent on gift items for students and their schools.
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