The best graduating student of Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State in the 2013/2014 academic session, Oputa Alma, 21, finished from the Department of Computer Science and Information Science with 4.99 CGPA. She shares her story with TUNDE AJAJA in this interview

Some people have said that the grading system in private schools is too generous and unrealistic unlike what obtains in public schools.

Do you see any difference in their products?

The grading system is the same.

It’s just that we pay for our comfort in private schools, which enhances our performance.

Those things that could make learning very conducive and stress-free are already provided for us, and we pay for them, so we tend to do better.

For instance, some public schools pay N15,000 as tuition fee while some private schools pay up to N700,000. Whatever we pay already covers power supply, water supply, accommodation, equipped and functional laboratories, etc, and an enclosed environment where not just anything goes, unlike in public schools where those facilities are not always readily available and the teaching and living conditions are not good enough.

The attention and care we get in private schools cannot be compared to what we have in public schools.

When you put all these variables together, they influence a student’s performance. With the kind of money we pay and the kind of academic environment, the difference is expected.

We learnt you had wanted to study Medicine while growing up. What motivated you?

My dad is a doctor, a consultant, and he is my role model, so I wanted to follow in his steps and make him proud.

I loved what he was doing and I just wanted to be like him.

That was why I had such plan, not because I knew anything about Medicine or had so much interest.

Why did you end up studying Computer Science and Information Science?

I didn’t pick the course; one of my teachers in secondary school randomly picked it for me because I never knew about the course until I was offered.

I was keen on studying Medicine then, so I didn’t care what my second choice was.

In fact, everyone thought I would study Medicine, but it didn’t work out. But now, I’m okay with the course, coupled with the Information Science that deals with everything about information, from the gathering/collection to its processing, storage and dissemination.

I have always loved mathematical courses and subsequently, the programming courses because I love practicality.

I don’t really like theory; theoretical courses were boring to me.

I had to put in extra efforts in reading and learning them.