The second best candidate in just concluded West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), Khadija Hassan Kallon, former pupil of the Community Initiative Academy in Lambayama Gbo in Kenema has said that part of her lifetime dream is to read Accounting at the University. 

She revealed this in an interview with Awoko last Friday in Kenema while attending the official opening of the Nyapui Senior Secondary School of Excellence Boarding Home, in Cambema Village.

Khadija explained that it was not an easy task as a girl as she had to compete with the boys but this forced her to attend extra classes, doing constant revision, spending much of her time in the library while her colleagues where socializing, and all this was just to make her parents proud. She urged her colleagues to focus on their studies to achieve their goals, as there is no two ways to it. Her ambition is to study Accounting at the University with the hope to contribute towards nation building.

According to the Principal Community Initiative Academy in Lambayama Gbo in Kenema, Aloysius Suwu, it’s not a surprise for them as a school to provide the second best WASSCE 2022 candidate as they have been preparing their pupils over the years for both BECE and WASSCE examinations as teachers and parents with the aim of getting attractive grades.

He disclosed that this is the third WASSCE examinations pupils are writing under their school name despite the fact that the school was founded in 2020 by his late father Alhaji Benson Ahmed Suwu, the former Section Chief of Gbolambayama Section and also former Minister of Political Affairs under former President Ernest Bai Koroma. He maintained that the previous BECE and WASSCE results had been better for them in terms of performance, disclosing that they sent a total of seven hundred and fifty-seven candidates and secured a total of five hundred and thirty-four passes with 5 credits and above with University requirement.

Principal said the school is owned by the community people with his late father as the leader started the Initiative with three thematic areas including affordable education for the people of Lambayama, reducing the stress and risk of crossing rivers to access education in other villages and also to save the people from transportation cost of sending their kids far away from home to acquire education.

Suwu said the school started operations in 2010 and got the Government approval in 2012 and the Senior Secondary School started in2018 and was approved in 2020 as a Government Assisted School. He disclosed that they are receiving all the facilities under the Free Quality Education project.

To get the pupils together he explained, they started a boarding home in 2019 and wrote an application letter to the Ministry of Education for approval but they were informed that the Ministry will not at the moment take on the additional role from them to fund the daily running of the boarding home, but they are running it as a test case privately.

Explaining about their challenges, Suwu said they are currently establishing a science lab which they are struggling to equipped to meet the require standard. Most of the Teachers are not on Government Payroll he disclosed, adding that the community people are providing stipend for them as and when available.

“Late arrival of school subsidies is another serious challenges affecting the smoother running of the school. We are utilizing the little resources available to run the school,” he said, disclosing that the recently announced WASSCE result will serve as a motivation for the other pupils in the school and the village.

Speaking about the secret of their success in the 2022 WASSCE exams, he maintained that despite the numerous challenges they embark on serious monitoring of the pupils notes together with the parents, adding that they also engage in Inter school coordination by inviting teachers from other schools to assist them in certain areas.