Deputy Speaker of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Kufre Abasi Edidem, has announced plans to revive interest in Agricultural Science and Biology education across public schools in the State.
The lawmaker made the announcement on Friday at the grand finale of the ARISE quiz competition, tagged BrainWave, which he sponsored for the people of Itu State Constituency. He said declaring an emergency in these two subjects was necessary following the abysmal performance of students from both public and private schools in Biology and Agricultural Science, in contrast to their satisfactory results in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry.
According to him, “From what I observed, all the students scored below 20 per cent in Agric Science and Biology, while in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry, their performance was above 85 per cent. The performance gaps we observed signal a need for deliberate reawakening of interest in Agricultural Science in our secondary schools.
“Our young people must understand that agriculture is no longer limited to subsistence farming; it is now driven by technology, research, and innovation. We must encourage them to embrace this field as a pathway to wealth creation, food security, and national growth.
“To achieve this, there is an urgent need to deploy more qualified Biology and Agricultural Science teachers to our schools, not only in Itu but across the state. As your representative, I will continue to advocate strongly for this within the appropriate government channels.”
The lawmaker also said a state of emergency should be declared at one of the schools in Itu Local Government following the poor performance of its students in the competition.
Edidem, who did not disclose the name of the school, expressed dismay that the best three students fielded by the school for the quiz were unable to answer a single question, adding that he would launch an investigation to ascertain the cause.
He said, ”And there’s a particular school in Itu that I said we should declare a state of emergency on. This school came here for the competition—you know each school will bring in their best three. So, if the three best students of the school, who are going to sit the West African Examination Council, couldn’t answer one question in three subjects, a state of emergency should be declared on that school.”
The lawmaker, who noted that not everything should be pushed to the governor, said he would liaise with the council chairman to see what interventions could be implemented, even as he commended Governor Umo Eno for the massive upscaling of infrastructure in public schools across the state.
“The new model schools, renovations, and instructional materials provided under the ARISE Agenda are clear evidence of a government committed to building a stronger future for our children. We are grateful, and we encourage the continuation of these transformative investments,” he said.
Meanwhile, at the end of the competition, West Itam Secondary School, a public secondary school, took first position, receiving a cash prize of N1 million, three tablets for the participating students, and copies of the Bible. Monef Secondary School and Word of Faith International, both private schools, took second and third positions with cash prizes of N750,000 and N500,000 respectively, in addition to tablets, copies of the Bible, and other learning materials.