COMPREHENSIVE HIGH SCHOOL, AIYETORO
Comprehensive High School is a secondary school in Aiyetoro, a district in the Egbado (Yewa North) Division of South Western, Nigeria . HISTORY
Just after Nigeria attained independence in 1960, the authorities began to consider the problem of manpower needs and the desirability of having a secondary school system more closely related to such needs. A nation-w
ide review of the secondary school system was undertaken, arising from both direct initiative and external advice. Sixth form work in science subjects was given top priority together with the introduction of technical streams at the school-certificate level. The then Western Region government, with external assistance from USAID (Harvard University) who provided staffing resources and Ford Foundation (who provided funding until 1973), established Comprehensive High School Aiyetoro in February 1963. The school was the second Comprehensive School in the country, after Government Comprehensive Secondary School, Port Harcourt, which was founded in 1962 through the collaboration of the then Eastern Nigeria Government and USAID, with its foundation instructors coming from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Comprehensive High School, Aiyetoro is situated on a 171-hectare land, 37 kilometers west of Abeokuta; it was foundedas an experiment based on the philosophy proposed by the now belated founders, the Dr. Adam Skapski, Chief B. Shaplin and John Monro “Champion of the disadvantaged, as contained in an April 21, 1962 article published in the Harvard College, Cambridge, MA daily newspaper “Harvard Crimson” [1]
The philosophy was designed to achieve three goals: Serving the educational needs and potentialities of every child: Providing education which is relevant to the Technical, Economic, Social and Scientific needs of the society, as well as developing democratically minded citizens who would be aware of their country's social, economic and political problems in the present world situations. At inception, the school was made up largely of lecturers from Harvard University and other renowned institutions in the United States of America as well as education officers from the then Western Region Government service took off with about 70 students. Comprehensive High School, Aiyetoro had definitely benefited from the services of the best hands in the educational ministry as well as renowned educationists going by the list of officers who have served there. Also, the immense foreign support provided for the school in funds, personnel and materials contributed enormously to the achievements of the school. The school is in no doubt the precursor of the 6-3-3-4 system of education and largely responsible for the popularity of comprehensive education in the country. "Compro" as fondly referred to by many, especially its past student has produced many old students who now occupy very sensitive positions in the society both in Nigeria and abroad.
