Opara Chioma Stella remains the centre of admiration as her former school Nigerian Tulip International Colleges (NTIC) recently celebrated the outstanding performances of its students, who performed excellently in the 2022 West African School Certificate Examinations Council (WASSCE) and Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) results.
LEADERSHIP reports that, in the 2022 UTME, no fewer than 40 of its students scored above 300 and straight A’s in WASSCE, while other students graduated in flying colours.
Stella, the aspiring Artificial Intelligence in Computer science student, who emerged the overall best with 9A’s in the 2022 WASSCE and 345 in UTME, said the secret behind her success was God, hard work and a strong support system.
“This is something I say all the time. Without God, I wouldn’t have achieved what I have today. The guidance and comfort of the Holy Spirit isn’t something I can do without. The second factor is hard work. To achieve any dream or goal, you must be willing to give all you have.
“Countless times, I had to sacrifice sleep, leisure time… You must persevere even when all you want to do is give up. There was also my strong support system- my friends and family. When I felt down, they supported me and urged me to go on. They reminded me of why I was expending all that energy and making the sacrifices,” she said.
She also said students that have graduated from NTIC have been performing good because of the role the school plays.
Reacting to the development, Mr. Feyzullah Bilgin, the managing director of the school, said the institution has exhibited a culture of excellence where everyone is trying to do their best, beginning from the administration to the security and cleaning.
He reiterated its commitment to producing the best students and position NTIC schools to become the best in Nigeria, and one of the best schools in Africa.
Bilgin said, “I think there are things that are really important for the success of the school. One of them is the culture of excellence. So everyone is trying to do their best from the administration to the security and cleaning. So it has become a culture of NTIC. That is one and secondly, I think the most important one is the teachers. So the quality of the teachers is the success behind all these results.
“We celebrated them by giving some prizes to the best students. So when they became successful in jump, we gave them prices, monetary prices, we gave them also monitory price after WAEC results as well. And we also helped the students, those students particularly to get scholarships into international universities. So, we are also celebrating them by putting the pictures and information on social media and on traditional media as well,” he said.
He noted that the school has been giving scholarships to students, saying that most of the students who graduated from the institution are doing excellently in their various fields of study.
Some of the exceptional record breakers with above 300 in UTME are: Olaoluwakitan Adegoke Lawal with 348, OparaChioma Stella with 345, Fahd Idris Onorouzia with 340, Ediomo-Edikan Anthony Umana with 335, Aisha Haruna Abdurahman with 333, Alamin Muhammed Abubakar 329, Khidir Rodiyah Omotola with 328, Mohammed Siraj Salihu328, Abdur’rahman Bala Yabani with 322 and Muhammad Ishaku Sani with 321, among others.
In WASSCE, those who topped the chart are: Opara ChiomaStella had 9A’s and those with straight 8A’s are Placid Chigozirim Okoro scoring 8A’s, Aisha Mahmu Gazara, Adenuga Abdulahhar Adebowale, Odogwu Sonia Kamsiyochi, Muhammad Zainab Babandede, and Olaoluwakitan Adegoke Lawal,” amongst others.
On her part, Aisha Mahmud Gazara, who graduated with straight 8A’s, said hard work, belief and not giving up, helped her to excel. Gazara also commended NTIC teachers who assisted her to achieve the height.
She further advised students who would like to achieve academic success to take it step by step.
“When I was studying for this examination, at the beginning I was procrastinating, now I’m not advising anyone to do that honestly, because that comes with a lot of stress and anxiety that I’m sure no one needs. What I’m trying to tell you is you might not be perfect all the time.
“You might not have the perfect study routine or you might not always have to have it figured out just as long as you know what works best for you. Give it everything, only remember your goal and be careful not to overwork yourself,” she added.
The teenager also called on the federal government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), to in the interest of Nigerian students, end the ongoing industrial action.
The vice principal academics, Bob Odey Ushie, who spoke on the strategies put in place by the school to ensure its students come out in flying colours said, “We take it as an engine point, particularly from JSS 1 to particularly groom these kids in a range of subjects that related to their future carrier and when they get to SS1, that is where the senior secondary starts, they are mandated to start up supplementary classes after the normal school period where they are taken through intensive lessons.”
