Students falsifying age to get into Real Madrid Academy – Commissioner

Rivers’ Commissioner for Education, Prof. Kaniye Ebeku, has lamented the fact that some children have been lying about their age and class because of admission into the Real Madrid Football Academy. Ebeku made the observation yesterday in Port Harcourt during the Academy’s screening of prospective students, saying the unfortunate act was on the basis of […]

Rivers’ Commissioner for Education, Prof. Kaniye Ebeku, has lamented the fact that some children have been lying about their age and class because of admission into the Real Madrid Football Academy.

Ebeku made the observation yesterday in Port Harcourt during the Academy’s screening of prospective students, saying the unfortunate act was on the basis of what their parents taught them.

The commissioner pointed out also that some parents insisted on having their way by not obeying the guidelines as stated in the advert on the age and class of their children.

“Some parents are insisting to have it their own way by not adhering to the guidelines in the advert.

“The guideline says applicants must be between the age of nine and 12 years and must be in Junior Secondary School (JSS) One. But we have found out that some children here are 13, going to 14, and 14, going to 15 years.

“So, how do we reconcile this situation with the advert? And some of the parents have told their children to tell lies concerning their age and class,” he said.

“If the parents had not come to create this problem here, we would have been done with this exercise today. But we have been able to surmount the difficulty.”

The commissioner, however, observed that the large turnout of applicants and the enthusiasm at the venue of the screening demonstrated that Gov. Nyesom Wike’s approach to football development was a huge success.