Four of the leading secondary schools in Ekiti State will on Monday, January 29, 2024, slug it out at an inter-school debate competition to kick off the 70th anniversary celebrations of Ekiti Parapo College, Ido-Ekiti (EKPACO).
Christ’s School, Ado-Ekiti, founded in 1933; Doherty Memorial Grammar, Ijero-Ekiti, founded in 1955 and Annunciation School, Ikere-Ekiti, founded in 1957, will join the hosts, EKPACO, founded in 1954, during the Founders’ Day event to speak on the topic, “Is Artificial Intelligence a Blessing or a Curse to Humanity”?
National President of Ekiti Parapo College Ido-Ekiti Old Students Association (EPCOSA), Dotun Adekanmbi, said: “The idea of the debate is to underscore the place of the age-long healthy competition for excellence among these age grade institutions. We deliberately chose the contemporary topic to help our young people have a full grasp of trending global issues.”
He said that the Platinum Jubilee of the college is an important milestone in the history of educational development in Ekiti State, as EKPACO had maintained its historical position as the first and only Ekiti State wholly-owned community post-primary educational institution built by the Ekiti elite.
Adekanmbi said the college was conceived by the defunct Ekiti National Association (ENA) and Ekiti Progressive Union (EPU) to promote the intellectual growth of Ekiti people and, by extension, reinforce their unity and political independence.
“We aim to seize the opportunity of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations to embark on the restoration of the decaying infrastructure of the college but more importantly, to re-establish EKPACO as an institution globally known for academic excellence,” Adekanmbi said.
Also speaking on the celebrations, Public Relations Officer (PRO), Ayodeji Afolabi, said: “EPCOSA’s primary goal for celebrating EKPACO at 70 is to underscore the association’s commitment to building a globally-competitive educational institution that will be a legacy school to celebrate the past, consolidate the present and chart a new course for the future.”
Ekiti Parapo College was founded on Friday, January 29, 1954, as a memorial to the unity of the Ekiti people, particularly during the 16-year (1877-1893) Ekiti War of Independence that was fought to achieve the historic liberation of Ekiti land from the grips of Ibadan, their internal colonial masters.
