Anambra State Education Excellence Vindicated by Nine National Awards, Counters 'Flawed' Philips Consulting Report

The Anambra State Government has leveraged the state's remarkable win of nine awards at the 2025 President’s Teachers and Schools Excellence Award to denounce a recent poor educational rating released by Philips Consulting (PCL). 

Mr. Christian Aburime, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, asserted that the national awards, conferred recently at the Eagles Square in Abuja, served as a "resounding affirmation" of Governor Soludo’s visionary policies and exposed the PCL report as a "methodological mirage."

Anambra State schools, teachers, and administrators swept an astonishing nine awards across both public and private categories, demonstrating "unparalleled excellence" in Nigeria’s educational landscape:

Overall Best School: Woliwo Primary School II, Onitsha, clinched the star prize as the all-round best school in Nigeria, winning a sixteen-seater bus.

Best Approved Private Primary School: Pinkberry International School, Odume Obosi, was the first runner-up nationwide.

Best Public Junior Secondary School: Government Secondary School (GSS), Ojoto, took the first runner-up position.

Individual educators also shone brightly, securing several first runner-up positions, including:

Nkechi Ikedi (Pinkberry International School) for best private primary school teacher.

Emmanuel Ndibe (St. Theresa’s Secondary School, Enugwu Ukwu) for best private senior secondary school teacher.

Cosmas Nwata (Igbariam Farm Settlement Primary School) for best public primary school teacher.

Amaka Ubaka, Okafor Ngozi, and Edozieobi Nnenna for best public school administrators across various categories.

Aburime stated that these successes are a result of deliberate strategic policy shifts under Governor Soludo, including:

Free Education: Extending free education from nursery to JSS3 to include SS3 in 2024 across all public schools.

Enrolment Surge: This policy has driven a 50% surge in public school enrollments, reducing the number of out-of-school children to a reported low of 2.9% (UNESCO 2023), with current indications suggesting the figure is near zero.

Investment: The administration has recruited 8,115 teachers in two years, coupled with massive investments in infrastructure and technology.

The CPS noted that the state’s dominance is evident globally, citing wins in the 2023 International Debate Championship in Malaysia and securing gold in the 2024 World Affairs Challenge, alongside topping the 2025 UTME with a nation-leading score of 375.

Aburime launched a stinging critique of the PCL rating, which ranked Anambra at 33rd in education infrastructure, labeling the methodology as "flawed" and bordering on "misinformation."

He cited the flaws as:

 A minuscule sample of 78 respondents for a state of over 8 million people; the sample was skewed 76% male without proper stratification; an over-reliance on expenditure figures devoid of outcome assessments**, suggesting the report was based on "perceptions from afar, likely Lagos or Abuja desks," with no field visits.

Aburime concluded by urging the public, especially with the November state governorship election approaching, to beware of "microwave propaganda and the mischief of flawed ratings," emphasizing that Anambra's education sector is not slumping, but soaring.