LOW CUT

CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE; SSS 3

I didn't say "finally as usual" when I saw my MOCK EXAMINATION result with "promoted to SSS 3" written boldly on it.
I wasn't excited when I passed. I just felt sad and awkward. I was sad because I was leaving soon. I wasn't happy that in the next few months I'll have the opportunity to keep my hair again. I was sad that in the next few months I'll be free from Mr. Babalola and Mrs. Fadake's drama.  I was sad. I felt like what I was craving for,for so long has come and it seems so little and worthless to me. I couldn't compare the love I had for my friends-my School family for anything else in the world. The relationship I had built within a year was almost over and I wasn't happy about it. I wish we could just go on and on. I wish we could build another School and continue.
  I felt awkward because I was growing up.
I wasn't happy seeing all my favourite Teachers leave. Mrs. Bolanle retired last term when she turned sixty and that made me a bit sad because she was like a mother to me even though we weren't close.
   Oh! How I remember the day our MOCK EXAMINATIONS results came out. It took two months for us to  get our results and by the way, the Examination was "tough" it was like writing WASSCE ( West African Senior School Certificate Examination) for SSS 3 when you are still in SSS 2. In fact that was what happened. I wasn't even surprised or shocked
when I saw the massive failure of the MOCK EXAMINATION In my Set mainly because we had been warned few years back.
   I sat in my class that sunny morning eating and discussing with my sit mate Joash when  Mrs.Abiola the English teacher walked in and made us pack our food and postpone our interesting and important discussion. She had barely started teaching when Mr. Dayo our soon to be year Tutor for SSS 3 walked in and interrupted her lectures without courtesy.
  "I am very ashamed of all of you! Would you believe that only fourteen of you passed?" He yelled at us and the whole class immediately became as silent as a court room. The sudden shock and fear that descended on the whole class was so strong and palpable. Everyone felt it, including me. I was so afraid and sad 'what if I'm not among the fourteen students who passed? ' I thought to myself.
"Wait o! You mean in this Art class only fourteen students passed?" Mrs. Abiola held his arm and asked him in shock.
"No! I mean the whole of SSS 3; A, B and C!" Mr. Dayo shouted even more.
"Heeey! Aye mi o ( my life oh!)" Mrs. Abiola exclaimed in shock before I could say jack, she started crying.
Mrs. Abiola wept for us like we were her children. I was surprised and deeply touched to see her reaction towards Mr. Dayo's news. Meanwhile, the latter was laughing at us.
The principal walked in immediately and asked everyone to calm down including Mrs. Abiola. "Please I don't want what happened last two years with the last two SSS 3 Set to repeat itself again. I want all of you to calm down. We would resolve this issue I promise."
  I'm sure you must be wondering what happened the last time. Well, when I was in SSS 1 The SSS 3 set had their mock Examination before they were in SSS 3 but the results didn't come out until they got to the next class which is SSS 3. This is very wrong. First of all the Mock Examination starts late and finishes late for example; from September 21st to October 23rd. " This is already the begining of another Session. Instead of doing what we are meant to do in SSS 3, we would be preparing for an Examination. Then finally when the Examination is over, the results takes at least a month to be released. And when it is released, the Students who have started out in the SSS 3 class would be asked to repeat the previous class when they fail. This is so sad and terrible. This often leads to massive drop outs from the government Schools some resume in private Schools, whereas most of them just drop out and give up on School hence the term "school na scam."
The last two sets didn't do that when it was announced to them that only seven students from their set passed the mock Examination (without mentioning their names). It was as though they were tired of the educational System of the government Schools in Nigeria, They FOUGHT, They fought back but they fought the wrong people. They went round the School and destroyed bulbs and fans and beat up teachers. One of the teachers that was beaten up mercilessly was Mr. Babalola. Mr. Babalola was so dealt with that he was in a state of Coma for three months A lot of students thought he was going to die. So I heard. I wasn't in School that day and I'm glad I wasn't. The matter was eventually resolved and more than Forty of them were promoted to SSS 3.
  They did wrong and acted foolishly too. They destroyed their School property and beat up Teachers who were parents to other children while the governor just sat in his mansion probably eating and drinking and his Children probably studying in another country. Enjoying the good life. To be honest, the government wasn't even aware or moved by what they did. It was all in vain!
   I'm still wondering why a leader of a country would send his own children out of his own country, his own land, his own palace to another man's country to learn to study "shamelessly" without remorse.
Why? How ? For what reason. They destroy the future of many children and expect theirs to be better. That's impossible!

   As the Principal had promised, The matter was resolved and more than fifty of us in the whole SSS 3 set were promoted. Everyone around me was (my family ) was promoted except Raphael.
I was surprised and sad because I was among the students who did the results. I felt like I had blood on my hands when I saw the tears of those who were to go back to the previous class and repeat it.
I didn't do anything wrong, I didn't manipulate anybody's result, I couldn't. I didn't have the mind to do it and that was why I felt guilty. I felt guilty for being a coward and not helping when I could even though that's not real help "passing without the accurate knowledge".
     My class because free and Spacious. We were thirty three in my class. We were able to have five columns in the class room because of the space. We now knew each others names because of the population reduction. We now had a connection because we were now small in number.
Cynthia left Osa School. She didn't repeat any class she just got tired and gave up. She did this only because she could . If she had a mother like mine, she wouldn't even think of it.
    In my set, we became 88 in number. We went from being 450 students who started in JSS 1 to 88 students in SSS 3. Where did the rest go to?
Osa School couldn't retain Eighty percent of her Students. This is very sad.