SOLID STEPS INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS: CARVING A ROAD MAP FOR A SOLID FUTURE FOR NIGERIA’S EDUCATION SYSTEM
Story by Kingsley Umoh
Discipline is probably the most difficult and unpleasant part of teaching profession. The teacher is faced with the challenges of educating, socializing, empowering and certifying students, but with the help of good teaching atmosphere, students ‘misbehavior’ is a prevailing problem affecting schools not only in Nigeria, but also across the many nations around the world.
Student’s misconduct in the classroom interferes with teaching and learning, and is thought to be precursor to later school dropout and similar negative social outcomes, the indiscipline problem in schools is ranked as a major problem among students of secondary schools in Nigeria. Disruptive behavior is a concern to schools and parents and to fellow students, whose education may be adversely affected.
It is on this bedrock that SOLID STEPS INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS is taking a SOLID STEP into academic excellence and building Nigeria’s future leaders carved out from a Discipline background.
The school is born out of passion, to raise credible leaders, who can make a positive impact in the society, in addition, to provide world class education on the framework of quality teachings.
EDUCARE NEWS crew had an explosive interview session with the principal of SOLID STEPS INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS, Mr Ademola Solomon (PGD), the astute school administrator, has been in the helm of affairs since 2016, a passionate educationist, with huge appetite for discipline, Mr. Solomon spoke glowingly about Solid Steps International Schools, their mission, uniqueness achievement, success story, discipline and the positive impact of SOLID STEPS in Nigeria’s education system.
ACHIEVEMENT/ DISCIPLINE
“Since our students started writing the BECE 6 years ago, we have been recording successes; we started enrolling for WAEC since 2018, BECE 2016, in 2018, three of our students gain admission into the university.
Our first set of students got a best result of 6A’s in WASSCE, which was 80 percent success rate, our BECE also have been wonderful, we don’t have any reason to raise alarm because our teachers have been wonderful.
We stand on discipline; we ensure zero tolerance for exam malpractices, some schools may promise 9A’s, we can’t promise that because we have zero tolerance for exam malpractices, but we are working assiduously towards that direction because we don’t indulge in nefarious act like other schools.
Discipline is not easy to come by in our society, but even the scripture says that ‘spare the rod and spoil the child, ‘but we are we are always informing parent that the school is school and home is home, but we are still trying our best even as we try to maintain the rules of the ministry of education as it concern disciplining students, the school and home should be at par in area of children.
The school is bigger than everybody, even as the principal, the school has rules and regulation and if I violate it, they can lay me off, and also I can leave but the school will still remain, the school outlives everybody. But if things are not set in the right direction, an organization cannot outlive everybody, and that is why the issue of discipline is very important to us, we try to maintain it at the highest level, so things can go according to plan, because without discipline a child will find it difficult to read or to even wake up in the morning with the mindset of going to school. Every child wants comfort, but if they can achieve success, comfort will be very easy to come by. To achieve success discomfort must come.
That is the reason we are taking a solid step to academic future and that is one of the things we are trying to achieve, we are here to stay and we are to be the best in education, we are a citadel of learning, and that is the reason we can produce world class student that can stand the test of time.”
WHAT SOLID STEP HAS COME TO CHANGE IN NIGERIA’s EDUCATION SYSTEM
“Some parent thought that with a school like Solid Steps, their children can come and with little effort will achieve 9A’s, but I said know, they have to put in effort and more effort, that’s why we are here, from teachers, management staffs and the students, we organize programmes for them, as part of our time table for us to be able to change the status quo, we introduce technology to them, where students can come out, initiate and develop things for themselves. Last year we had what we called ‘Talent Hunt Class,’ and we were able to discover talent amongst our students in Mathematics and Sciences.
Though most schools are using technology now, but we have what we call Automated Car operated machine, what we want to change is to have a zero tolerance for examination malpractices and still produces the best students you can find in the country. Once a child is not good in secondary school, it would be very difficult to improve the child. If you don’t have solid foundation in secondary school, you may not find it easy when you get to the university, and that’s why we are preparing our students to take a solid step now in their 6 years education with us, so when they get to the university the sky will be their starting point.
One of our products in Babcock University is in 4.5GP, and he is going into 5GP. Those in 200 levels in other university are doing very well too. And today they are telling us that all those difficult times they pass through while they were with us is now yielding result. we give them all the topics in mathematics to go and mastered them before the start of WASSCE, what this means is that for your 3 years in SS1 to SS3, we give you topics on each mathematics subject, so they go home and mastered up to 5 topics before the WASSCE commences.
So we ensure that students put in diligence to be able to achieve success in their result on their own independent of anybody, which is what we want to change in the education system that is why we are Solid Steps into academic future.”
UNIQUENESS
“It is our discipline and diligence, when you come to SOLID STEPS, you will have to put in the hard work, if you don’t put in hard work, we will send you out, in our school students repeat classes, we ask them to repeat a particular class once they don’t perform very well, and we tell parents that once a child is below 50 per cent that means he/she has failed.”
SOLID STEPS IN FUTURE
“I want to see Solid Steps at the pinnacle of Nigeria education system, at the level where the best schools are, where they are mentioning 10 best schools in Nigeria, our name should be there, and we are working towards that, and one of the things that can help us to be there is involving external communication. For now we are participating in the SPAR competition and Science competition that is what we are doing to be able to be reckoned with in the outside world.
Our WASSCE results is one of the best, that is where most schools are being reckoned with, our students are also posting great results in JAMB. We are here to achieve academic successes and moral standard.”
Solid Steps International Schools was founded on August 5, 2013 by Mr Alphonse Ojeme and Mrs Julianah Ishioma Okpor with a futuristic plan to produce excellent leaders, to measure up with world class school academically.
Solid Steps is founded on the foundation to provide world class education that produces impactful leaders, driven by superior quality service delivery, customer satisfaction, highly innovative and motivated team players with integrity, using state of the art infrastructure and methodology in a most conducive environment.
The school also sustains this by employing seasoned, experience and quality teachers who can deliver.
