El-Amin graduates are entrepreneurial, dynamic -Director

The 20th graduation ceremony of El-Amin International School, held in Minna on Saturday, celebrated the achievements of the 47 graduating SSS3 students. The event, which was graced by many personalities, was held to celebrate students that have successfully met the academic and extracurricular requirements for graduation. It also gave each graduate and his family an […]

The 20th graduation ceremony of El-Amin International School, held in Minna on Saturday, celebrated the achievements of the 47 graduating SSS3 students.

The event, which was graced by many personalities, was held to celebrate students that have successfully met the academic and extracurricular requirements for graduation. It also gave each graduate and his family an indication that he has closed a chapter in life and is opening a new one.

The school’s ‘KS 2019’ magazine was launched at the occasion by Sokoto State Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal who was  the guest of honour while royal fathers of the day were the Emir of Minna, Alhaji Umar Faruk Bahago and Emir of Agaie Alhaji Yusuf Nuhu.

In his remarks, Governor Tambuwal congratulated the graduands and commended them for being good ambassadors of their parents and urged them to be good ambassadors of the school as well as have strong and good role models to emulate.

He said: “I advise you to identify your objective clearly; be sure of what you want and pick a role model by identifying someone who has been successful in the field of your aspiration. Study his life and imbibe the virtues identified with that person. Victory can only be attained with determination and resolution.”

Governor Tambuwal also presented certificates and awards to the deserving students including the best student, Zainab Malabu, who obtained the highest scores in seven major subjects.

In his speech, the Executive Director, Dr Muhammad Babangida, said the school, which was founded 25-years ago, has kept the vision of the founder, Late Dr. (Mrs) Maryam Babangida, of providing quality education in an enabling and inspiring environment alive.

He said the teachers are effective in improving students’ academic performance as well as attitudes and behaviour.

Dr Muhammad said the school has gradually continued to grow from strength to strength and that the number of parents and friends of the school was still growing.

He said: “The truth is that we are here today, graduating another set of 47 very refined boys and girls in our time-tested tradition of excellence. The truth is there in an increased confluence of determination and enthusiasm to keep the founder’s flame burning.

“The truth is that her legacy is being sustained and enhanced and God willing by September 2019, El-Amin Secondary School will be celebrating 25 years of purposeful leadership and excellence in the education sector.”

At El-Amin, teachers believe in inquiry-based learning so much so that, students were challenged to go beyond the accumulation of factual knowledge and to address the greater questions that frame the world. The school celebrates creativity and originality as vital qualities that equip individuals to reach new horizons of knowledge, appreciation and understanding, he added.

Students are taught the entrepreneurial skills needed to turn commercial ideas into successes with a view to addressing skills challenges in the country.

“Students who leave El-Amin are typically confident, gregarious, dynamic, entrepreneurial, and empathetic. They try new things; they ask probing questions; they dare,” he said.

Dr Babangida said the essence of any school system was not to pay attention exclusively to standardized testing, rather to ensure that learners acquire lifelong skills that would transform their future for the better.

He said education was not merely a matter of demonstrating that “we have all it takes to have the best test scores. It is about embracing the culture that life is a long-learning process. Every step we make is an opportunity to learn something new. Today, we live in a global village. It has not only expanded the goals of the mainstream education process, but has also expanded the breadth of competitiveness. Today, we aspire to produce world-class digital citizens whose main aim is to compete with the best in the world, not just in our locality.”

Again, in spite of the fact that traditional method of teaching was to some extent relevant, the school has adopted modern methods of effective teaching that encourage students to develop their decision-making skills as well as collaborate to be more productive.

The school has adequate resources and facilities used by motivated teachers to deploy methods that centre on learner with emphasis on practical activities, he said.

“El-Amin International School, Minna, has truly embraced this change. We have restructured our teaching and learning instructions and philosophy to correspond with the amazing demands of global competitiveness.

“We continue to strive to equip our students with the knowledge, stamina and moral aptitude of surviving in the real-world.

“Students of this great institution appreciate the efforts, commitment, and beliefs that we put forward to achieve success,” the executive director stated.

While advising the graduating students on how to start off on the right foot, the he said “your success is our success, for we have given you the freedom to dare, the courage to excel and the belief that you can achieve your best.

“Together for the last time, you stand poised at the very edge of graduation, looking towards a bright future. Soon each of you will go forth, in his or her unique direction, seeking to make a mark upon the world.

“Your adulthood, so long anticipated, has now arrived. You must seize your future into your own hands, do with it what you will, striving towards excellence,” Babangida told the graduands.