Loyola Jesuit College – Bringing Students Closer to Culture and Language

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Loyola Jesuit College (LJC) is a Catholic, Jesuit, non-profit, co-educational boarding secondary school, sponsored by North-West Africa Province of the Society of Jesus (a Roman Catholic religious order). LJC was established in the year 1996. The pioneer set of 101 JS1 students began classes in October, and were the First graduating SSCE student in the year 2002. Seventy-nine students graduated.

Mission for A Bright Future

The mission of Loyola Jesuit College is to devote itself to the ministry of the intellectual, moral and religious formation of girls and boys of all religious faiths, tribes and socio-economic backgrounds who will serve God and others. While forming women and men for the service of God and others in the Jesuit tradition is the goal of Loyola Jesuit College.

Loyola Jesuit College is owned by an independent Board of Trustees and governed by a two-tier Board of Trustees and Governors. As an educational community of shared vision, Loyola Jesuit College does not discriminate on the basis of religion, economic status, sex, tribal affiliation, and regional origin in the administration of its educational and admission policies, and employment practices.

One of the specific contributions of Jesuit educators is that they are orientated to certain values. Jesuits and their colleagues at Loyola Jesuit College pledge themselves to the faith development of their students. Development of religious principles and moral values is central to the curriculum. We are a school community of women and men who are concerned for the others as members of God’s family. In service of our mission, everyone strives in the creating and sustaining of a vibrant learning environment that is characterized by respect and care of the whole person (Cura personalis). Policies are aimed at creating a “culture of excellence”, facilitating the acquisition of habits of creative collaboration, risk-taking, rigorous competency, accountability, and astute moral courage.

The ways in which the board contribute in shaping the college include the following:

• The first mission of the Board is to safeguard and guarantee the Jesuit identity and mission of Loyola Jesuit College as an apostolic ministry of the Society of Jesus.
• The Board of Trustees ensures and provides the spiritual tone and direction of Loyola Jesuit College consistent with the missions and traditions of Catholic and Jesuit education.
• The Board of Trustees is a legislative body which has the responsibility of determining the broad policies under which the College serves.
• The Provincial of the ANW serves as its Chair.
• The Board, the legal entity of the College (corporation), serves as the legal custodian of all its assets.
• The Board establishes and maintains a solid financial foundation for LJC.
• It sees that the College fulfills its educational purpose as defined by various Jesuit educational policies and criteria.
• The Board authorizes, reviews, and approves academic and financial planning to determine its aims and to ensure the implementation of the College’s objectives.
• The Board approves the annual budget.
• The Board judges the work of its executive officer, the President, and reviews the operation of the College.
• In all of its activities, the authority of the Board of Trustees rests in the Board as a whole and not in its individual members.
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Extra curricular

In exposing students to different experiences (beyond mastery of skills for the successful life) that form contexts within which LJC students could give expressions to faith in our Christian Service Programs, our students are helped to develop a spirit of generosity, as LJC assists in the total formation of persons for active life commitment as leaders-in-service. Consequently, “Service of God and Others” becomes the living motto of Loyola Jesuit College students and alumni.

By encouraging students’ participation in all school activities especially co-curricular activities like the drama club and other cultural activities that portray the various cultures in the country. The college has formidable structures to provide support to all students, especially international students, to enable them adapt seamlessly to the academic and co-curricular life of the college. These support structures include the counselling department, the chaplaincy unit, and the student life department, among others

Alumni stories

• Samuel Aboyeji (member of the Board of Governors)
• The Dr Alumni speaker of 2019 graduation
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Awards and Achievements

I consider ERNEST-EZE Munachi Jachike’s academic performance very outstanding, as he always scored an average of 80% or more in a school where 65% is considered the least satisfactory average, and where the curriculum is highly demanding. He has achieved several academic feats especially in the Sciences. He won the   Cowbell Mathematics Competition in 2015 and 2017 (at both the junior and senior categories). These winnings (of the National Mathematics competition) tell the doggedness that is typical to Munachi. Also worthy of mention are other unique performances which happened at National Olympiad for Informatics (Nigeria 2016, 2015), and the Pan African Mathematics Olympiad, where he came 2nd and 3rd places respectively. With this extraordinary performance, Munachi set the amiable record and emerged Overall Best in Mathematics and Sciences at Loyola Jesuit College in 2015, 2016 and 2017 respectively.

Outside the classroom, Munachi was versatile, and exhibited his talent in sports, music, entrepreneurship and writing. He (and his team) won the 100m dash, 400m race, 4 X 100 m relay at the Loyola Jesuit College Inter House Competitions in 2014, 2016, and 2017 respectively. Munachi is a member of the school’s choir, and the Accapella Group. He has a 2017 music album (‘March 14’) to his credit. Munachi was the Advertisement Manager of the Junior Achievement Enterprise. The enterprise is an organization of young entrepreneurs who develop skills that enable them raise funds for developmental projects in Gidan Mangoro Village (the village where the College is situated). As Member of the School Press, Munachi shared the responsibility of providing the student body with information on current affairs.

In the summer of his 10th Grade, Munachi took part in the Citizenship and Leadership Training (Man O War) Programme – organised by the Presidency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to train young men and women in the art of leadership.  Having acquired the needed leadership skill, he spent three weeks in the summer of his 11th Grade as a volunteer in an orphanage in Enugu State Nigeria. Munachi also served in different leadership capacities in the College. He was a Refectory Leader, Sectional Head for Hostel Affairs, Student Representative Council Deputy Speaker, President Jets and Brain Crackers Club and School Relay Captain.

Munachi, as a result of his numerous remarkable achievements and his exemplary lifestyle was presented as a Role Model to the College by the Principal on June 26, 2017. 

Okeke Favour had severally represented the school in inter-school competition in Mathematics and in Sciences and often won awards for himself and the school. Some of the awards that he has won include: Olympiad(Junior Mathematics) at national level he won a gold medal in 2016; Olympiad(Junior Science) at national level  he came first position with a gold medal in 2017; Olympiad(Informatics) at national level, he won a gold medal (first position) 2017; Chemical Society of Nigeria Science Competition-at state level, he came second and qualified for the national round in (2018); and Interspark Switch Science Competition at regional level, he came top 81 in Nigeria and qualified for the next stage of the competition (2018). 

OJUBA Mezisashe Shalom is one of the exceptional students I have encountered. Her exploits in math and sciences had given her several awards within and outside the school. She held the award of the overall best in Mathematics, Chemistry, physics and Further mathematics from her 10th grade through to 12th grade. Her diligence and attention to detail was critical in making her the best in practical sciences in her 11th grade. She represented the school in the Annual Interswitch SPAK National science quiz competition where she came out first overall in the national preliminaries. She finished as the 2nd runner up of the PZ Cussons Nationwide Chemistry Challenge in 2019 and was the First prize winner at the annual Chemistry Competition organized by the Chemical Society of Nigeria (CSN) in 2019. She was the national winner, kangaroo mathematics competition, 2019. 

Personal Touch for Overall Growth 

Students in each year are divided into four class sections labelled A through D. A class teacher is attached to each section and remains with it for at least one academic session. There are three opportunities for class teachers to meet formally with their students on a weekly basis:

• Daily, during registration
• Weekly, Guidance lessons
• Weekly, Personal-Social Education (PSE)

Class teachers are responsible for the pastoral care of all the students in their class and try as much as possible to get a true portrait of each student to enable them to make useful reports to the Principal and their parents. They constantly monitor the behaviour and work of each student and try to see that their classes obey the rules and regimen of the college.

Subject teachers are divided into departments and faculties, each supervised by a head of department and  a head of faculty. The heads of faculties organise regular faculty meetings and also meet with the Principal and the Vice Principal  Academics as a group and on an individual basis. Likewise, the heads of departments.

Planned Present & Future

First, we offer a Merit-Base scholarship to the best two candidates (a boy and a girl) in the college entrance examination. Secondly, we offer a Need-Base scholarship to candidates that pass our entrance exam but do not have the financial capacity to fund their education in the college, such candidates would have to apply for the need based scholarship and the Scholarship Committee would conduct a scholarship screening exercise for applicant to determine the percentage of scholarship to be awarded.

Upon graduation from the college Our students undertake careers in diverse fields in the sciences, social science and arts.