In Owerre-Ezukala, Holy Innocents School, marks graduation in style

• Stakeholders extol Late Fr Aaron Ekwu’s virtues

By Rose Oranye

PUPILS of Holy Innocents (Fr .Aaron Ekwu Memorial ) Nursery and Basic School, Owerre-Ezukala, Orumba South LGA of Anambra State, last week, thrilled people from different walks of life at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church Hall, Owerre-Ezukala, with songs, drama and other presentations to mark their 2018 Annual Graduation ceremony.
The event, which commenced with a special church service, also featured reward of excellence in both academic and non academic performances, including a special session where parents or guardians of graduating nursery and basic school pupils lined up behind their wards in the alter, making special prayers and declarations for God to bless their future.
Headmistress of the school, Nkiru Esther Ezedinachi, in a welcome address, disclosed that the school was founded by the Late Rev. Fr Aaron Ekwu, who is about to be beatified as a saint, in 1986.
Rev. Sr Ezedinachi highlighted some of the achievements of the school in both academic and non- academic areas, pointing out that theyhave addressed the lukewarm attitude of pupils towards their academic carriers, which has resulted in improved study habits and better performance in quiz and sports competitions in all levels.
“The school has severally recorded good academic performance in both internal and external examinations. The school is always crowned 100% in all external examinations. The school was recently given a bus by some foreign philanthropists, to ease movement of pupils for various activities outside our school”, she stated.
She identified lack of accommodation, unfriendly school environment, improper location of the school, inadequate play ground, lack of seats/ computer sets and the need to upgrade the salary of teachers and sponsor many indigent children, among others, as part the challenges facing the school.
Representative of the chairman of the occasion, Mr Ejike Enwerem, in an interview at the accession, commended the management of the school for the various achievements recorded so far, adding that the community will not hesitate to help the school develop a permanent site, considering the progress so far recorded in order to encourage them.
Also, speaking, Rev. Fr Kingsley Ejiekeme Madu, an indigene of Owerre-Ezukala, who represented his brother, Engr T.C Madu, stressed the need to always encourage education to form better characters and curb the moral decadence in the society .
He called on all to come back to the character formation which Fr. Ekwu, the founder of the school embodied for emancipation of the human person to be achieved, given that education is holistic.
Other stakeholders who spoke at the occasion, vowed to always identify with anything related to the Late Fr Ekwu, whom they described as Christ personified because of his love for humanity and other Christ-like virtues they witnessed during his stay in the town.