Beware of fraudsters, Lagos warns parents over model colleges’ admission

The Lagos State government has warned members of the public, especially parents and guardians seeking fresh admission or transfer for their children and wards into the state model colleges to beware of fraudsters.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Mrs Adebunmi Adekanye, gave the warning on Monday in a statement made available to newsmen by the Deputy Director, Public Affairs unit of the ministry, Mr Adesegun Ogundeji, saying the state had since concluded admission and transfer processes of students into its model colleges for the 2018/19 academic session with all successful students already in schools.

She explained that this information became necessary as many parents still besiege her office daily for enquiry on the admission that had long been concluded.

She said it appears that some parents and guardians had fallen into the hands of fraudsters by engaging services of the third party despite government warning on such approach in their quest for admission for their children and wards into model colleges.

Adekanye explained that the failure of those ‘middlemen’ to deliver on their promises would have necessitated them to continue deceiving the parents that the admission process was still on and that the ministry was yet to release supplementary list which they are awaiting.

“Whereas, there is nothing like awaiting list again as all admission and transfer requests have been treated on merit and the appropriate authority has signed off with all successful students already resumed in their schools,” she stressed.

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She disclosed that only 4,869 out of total 11, 285 students who sat for the entrance examination and met the cut off marks of their schools of choice were offered admission depending on available space

She also pointed out that only 1, 517 from a total of 3, 395 students who applied for a transfer from their former schools, which are mostly private schools, to model colleges and sat for screening exam and successful were placed in JSS11 or SS1 as applicable.

The perm sec said while only 244 students (representing 30.2% who scored 50 per cent benchmark) made the JSSII list, SS1 (representing 48.9%) made the rest.

She, however, asked parents to understand that both fresh admission and transfer of students into model colleges is based on performance and available space and not the mere application as many of them are wrongly believed.