Admission Policy under Mr. Osanyin

Before the arrival of Mr. Osanyin, the admission policy of the school reflected "national character", but based on merit. In fact, right from year 1 in 1943, the admission of students had never been localised to Offa alone. Pupils from far and wide were admitted. This admission policy was given more prominence under Mr. Osanyin. He sought and got permission from Ilorin Provincial Education Office to extend his catchment areas to the old Kabba, Oyo and Ekiti Provinces. Inspite of this, only one stream was maintained until 1953 when two streams were introduced. The students were usually admitted through a standard entrance examination.

Many Igbo boys and other non-Yorubas, whose parents worked at the Nigerian Railway Corporation and other Federal Parastatals, e.g., P&T were admitted. This gave the school a "Federal Charaeter”, e.g. Ojeahare Stephen (mid Western Region), Coker Olugbemi Olalekan (Western Region), Oyanoye Isaiah Agboola (Northern Region) and Mgbatogu Clement Chuks (Eastern Region) were all in the 1964 set.

In 1961, the Offa Descendants Union - the mouth piece of Offa indigenes - suggested that the Principal should admit girls to the school - thus making it co-educational. He accepted, but that meant additional administrative problems for him, such as separate accommodation for the girls, moderated and disciplined interaction between male and female students, and employing the services of a competent house matron, etc. Mr. Osanyin solved all these problems wonderfully well and with Military precision. He admitted twelve girls into Form 1 in that year to give effect to an introduction of a co-educational system in the school.

Bosede Fakeye, a pioneer female student, in a narration recalled the experience of part of their first day in school thus "time for evening meal came, and the mistress asked us to take our cutlery and go to the dining hall for our meal. We went half-way and came back again, for we could not enter the hall, as we were shy. When we finally did, we were too shy to eat. The twelve of us went back to our dormitory without even opening our dishes"!

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