No fewer than 4,174 students of Special Schools in Bauchi have gained admission into various tertiary institutions in the last 13 years, the Acting Chairman of the schools’ management board, Hajiya Lami Buba, has said.
Speaking at the end of entrance examination into the schools Hajiya Lami said the students were able to score at least five credits, including core subjects, in their School Certificate Examinations.
She said the government initiated the special schools in 2000 to enable the state meets its admission quota in tertiary institutions.
She said before that only two percent of secondary school graduates were able to have the required qualification to gain admission into tertiary institutions.
“I am happy to said that between 2002 to 2015 we registered about 5059 candidates that sat for WAEC/ NECO examinations out of the number 4174 were able to get five credits and above including Mathematics and English.
“We were able to get 82.5 per cent of them with the requirement of going into tertiary institutions and we will continue like that.’’
She said the schools faced a lot of challenges that included lack of infrastructure.
“Our infrastructure is over stretched. Since the inception of the school not a single classrooms is added and the pressure to admit more number of students is increasing every day. We need more teachers, hostels, classrooms as well as learning and instructional materials to enable us have more befitting and more conducive learning environment,’’ she said.
Lami assured parents of pupils who sat for the entrance exam that the board will ensure fairness in its admission process.