Four secondary schools in Ekiti State will on Monday, January 29 compete in an inter-school debate competition to kick off the 70th-anniversary celebrations of Ekiti Parapo College (EKPACO), Ido Ekiti.
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 Ekiti Parapo College Ido Ekiti 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 the Ekiti Parapo College Ido Ekiti Old Students Association (EPCOSA) Dotun Adekanmbi said: “The idea of the debate by the oldest and leading schools in Ekiti State is to underscore the place of the age-long healthy competition for excellence among these age grade institutions,” adding, “We deliberately chose the contemporary topic of the benefits and fears of artificial intelligence to help our young people have a full grasp of trending global issues.”
He explained that the platinum jubilee of the college is an important milestone in the history of educational development in Ekiti State, as EKPACO despite the ravages of time and the economy has maintained its historical position as the first and only Ekiti wholly-owned community post-primary educational institution built by the Ekiti elite.
According to Mr Adekanmbi, 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,” he said.
Also speaking on the commencement of the 70th anniversary celebrations, public relations officer Engr. Ayodeji Afolabi said: “EPCOSA’s primary goal for celebrating EKPACO at 70 is to underscore our Association’s commitment to building a globally competitive educational institution that will be a legacy school to celebrate our past, consolidate our present and chart a new course for the future.”
EKPACO 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 their internal colonial masters Ibadan.
