Government should support and, concretely recognize the significant and tremendous role played by the Catholic Church in formation of citizens through schools

PASTORAL VISIT TO CHRIST THE KING COLLEGE (CKC) GWAGWALADA, FTC.

By Fr. Paul Zirra

The atmosphere at Christ the King College (C.K.C) Gwagwalada was that of very visible joy and happiness as the principal, the school chaplain, staff and students welcomed the Archbishop Most. Rev. Ignatius A. Kaigama to the school. The Archbishop who came on a pastoral visit confirmed 130 candidates. During the homily he called on the students to be good ambassadors of the college, urging them to put into practice the virtues, the moral, spiritual and academic values they receive in the school.

While welcoming the Archbishop, at the end of the Mass, the principal, Rev. Bro. Mark listed the remarkable records and achievements of the college:
*The school came 2nd position nationwide during the I.Q English/ Mathematics competitions.
*The school emerged as the champion representing F.C.T in the national competition, and were given a plaque and a merit certificate at the end of the 2023 competition.
*The school represented the F.C.T in the National JETS competition, and one of it’s students was awarded University scholarship by the Federal Ministry of Education in addition to the medals and trophies.
*One of the students was among the four best performing students in Nigeria who were invited by the Japanese government to participate in the Sakura high school science conference which was held from 13th-20th April 2024. He was elected as the Nigeria delegate team leader being the best among them.

• Thirty seven (37) students of (C.K.C) Gwagwalada scored above 300 despite the general poor performance nationwide, forty seven (47) other students scored 250-299, 30 students scored between 200-249. Keeping the school’s pass percentage on a perfect 100% average.

The Archbishop who was palpably very happy with this achievements thanked the management, the academic staff and the parents of the students for their sacrifices and support towards the education of their children. He prayed that God will continue to be with the students to continue to excel and to be good citizens of our great country. He hopes that the Government will one day concretely recognize the significant and tremendous role played by the Catholic Church even before Nigeria’s independence and begin to render support either in terms of subsidies, school structures, scholarships for outstanding students, and any other educational benefits the Government gives to children attending government schools. He emphasized that these children being formed by the Catholic Church without discrimination are Nigerian citizens, and the hope for our dear country.