Kunle Adelabu
It was another opportunity to chat ways forward for the education in Nigeria, as stakeholders in the sector gathered to brainstorm on how to improve and achieved innovative and sustainable education through collaboration and partnership.
The engaging fora, which involved federal and state governments; public and private educational institutions, national educational bodies and international organisations, took place at the African International Education Conference centre located at the Commerce House, leisure Taylor Street, Victoria Island, Lagos on Thursday, March 21, 2024, and was organized by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).
The conference was themed: ‘lnnovation, Inclusion and Collaboration for Sustainable Education’.
Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, OON, SAN, in his goodwill message, commended the LCCI for taking up the onerous task of discussing and finding solutions to challenges confronting education.
Prof. Mamman, who was represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof. Ayodele Victoria Aitsenuwa, said that education gives a nation path to development and greatness.
The minister said that meetings like this would assist the county to look into actions taken in the past, present and find ways of overcoming challenges of the future.
While also stating that there is no sustainability of education without partnership and collaboration by different stakeholders, he charged stakeholders against wasting so much time on what the problems or how they were caused, but rather, focus on finding solutions.
The Executive Vice Chairman, Poise Nigeria, and Chairman, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Education Group, Mrs. Sokia Mavi Isibor, noted that embracing innovation entails a multifaceted transformation that encompasses curriculum design, teaching methodologies, and the integration of technology.
“When we talk about education, we must actually be considering the end product – who are the pupils or students and their ability to thrive in the new world of work. The World Economic Forum predicts that at least 50% of the workforce will need reskilling by 2025”, she said.
“There are many changes coming into the world of work, such as increased competition, the need for more education and certifications, and the trend to change careers 5-7 times in a lifetime. No matter what job or career path a person decides to take, there are some basic skills that all employers look for and our education system must tool up for the task.
“While technical skills (such as software engineering, data, and cloud computing) still experience high demand, organisations now also expect individuals to apply these skills using modern working methods to achieve better outcomes. In other words, organisations are no longer just seeking employees who can ‘do what they are hired for, they are looking for employees who can think critically, solve problems, and adapt to changes,” she said.
To build a society that thrives on progress and innovation, Mrs Isibor said that schools in Nigeria must undergo a paradigm shift in their approach to education.
“To build a society that thrives on progress and innovation, schools in Nigeria must undergo a paradigm shift in their approach to education”, she said.
“Embracing innovation entails a multifaceted transformation that encompasses curriculum design, teaching methodologies, and the integration of technology. By infusing agility, skills in critical thinking, problem – solving and creativity, schools can empower students for the future world work”.
The guest speaker, Dr Olatunde Adekola, Senior Education Specialist, World Bank, who identified challenges such as access to education, equity, especially for women, quality and employment for graduates after school, said that to address all these problems, the government and other stakeholders must collaborate to address the challenges of demand and supply.
“If every child wants to go to school, are there enough teachers, classrooms among others, to accommodate them?”, he asked.
“There is need to strengthen the system through partnership with community, parents’ body, religious bodies and others”.
During the panel session at the conference where issues were examined through different perspectives, Dr Adekola said:
“There is no data underpinning most of these things and like I said, most problems don’t get solved because you don’t know where you are starting at the end of the day. Do we know what is already happening that is working, at where, what does it cost and what it is? Or are we just assuming that there is nothing that works? To me, if you don’t know, that does not mean that it does not exist”, he said.
“In that case, why can’t we agree that we don’t know and look for consultant or researcher or universities to help us research into it. We have people with PhDs and Mscs who work in our tertiary institutions and can go round and provide evidence for us. That is the first step”, he charged.
He emphasized that to make partnership and collaboration work, there is need to provide incentives.
“The second thing that makes partnership works is the issue of incentives. Human beings are rational and base on that, you know where I am at the moment and you asked me to partner with you, will the partnership improve my situations or adversely affects it?”, he said.
“If the partnership will better my life, it doesn’t need any talking, but you need evidence to convince me that if I partner, there will be incentives accruing to me. Unfortunately, we have not properly address the issue of incentives in both private and public sectors.
“We need evidence based research; action research and not one that you have done five years ago and based on that, you are now telling us what is happening now.
“At the end of the day, we also need all of us to be accountable. It is not about blaming anybody in the public or private sector, all of us should hold ourselves accountable. That is how we can become better”, the Senior Education Specialist with the World Bank, said.
Honourable Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Lagos State, Mr Tolani Sule, also speaking during the panel session, said that the state government is implementing a committee’s report commissioned by the previous government which outlined the educational needs of Lagosians and the emerging state economy.
“The committee outlined the programmes and courses that are really relevant and needed and will be impactful to both economy and the students. One of the strong areas that was emphasised in the report is the area of the technical education.
“For this reason, as part of the outcome of the committee’s work, the Lagos State Vocational and Technical Education Board was established and more technical colleges were established. We have one at Abue Ado, there is Manpower Development Center at Epe, and there are others at Agidingbin and Idimu. There are seven of them right now”, he said.
The Commissioner said that the state is partnering and collaborating with private companies and bodies to scale up the students’ technical know – how, especially with IT, and committing more funds to its Technical Colleges and University of Education”, he said.
“Because of the importance attached to technical education, we are partnering with some IT companies like Samsung and others that are helping us in training these students.
“Enough fund is deliberately allocated to the operations of these technical colleges. Not only this, the decision to transmute the Lagos State Polytechnic into the Lagos State University of Science & Technology, is another way of carrying out the outcome of the educational needs of Lagos”.
He said that the aim of the re-organisations in the state educational system is to encourage more students to embrace educational and technical programmes and in the future, provides the much needed manpower for companies and other institutions.
“We have discovered that for us to provide manpower for the companies around and for businesses and the upcoming economy that is expected of Lagos, we need more people in the technical area. We can see that not many of our children are desiring to have OND and HND”, the Commissioner said.
“To encourage more people to procure education in the area of technical studies, we transmuted the Lagos State Polytechnic into the University of Science and Technology which is at Ikorodu, and as I am speaking to you, lot and lot is being done to ensure that all our programmes are fully accredited.
“We have seen it and we are pursuing it because technical education is really needed to provide the manpower for the emerging Lagos economy”, he said.
The JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Olanrewaju Oloyede, said that JAMB is ensuring inclusion of physically challenged people through a deliberate policy that caters for their intake and support them on campuses.
Prof. Oloyede was represented by a senior management staff of the examination body.
“My Registrar is very passionate about equal opportunity. Once you registered, the Group takes over from there and it caters for them. For instance, applicants with sight problems are picked up, given date and the Board caters for them and their handlers. They would be lodged in a hotel or place where they will write the examinations, and they are also responsible for returning them to their base”, the JAMB Registrar said.
“Once they write the exams and make the cut off mark, the Board will ensure that they are giving admission.
“If you are a candidate on a wheel chair and we know that you have a challenge going up a storey building, the Board ensures that you are kept in a centre that you can easily be rolled in. We also make them comfortable”, JAMB emphasized.
It was also stated that JAMB is also liaising with institutions in making physically challenged students have conducive academic environment.
“The only challenge that we have is where they do not indicate their kind of disability. We have also moved forward to ask Vice Chancellors, because they are the ones that will admit them and they have a lot to do when they get their institutions. Where is their classrooms? How do they navigate their ways? Other issues were discussed and a lot have been agreed upon at the stakeholders’ seminar?”, JAMB said.
“So, the physically challenged are primary at the heart of my Registrar and for all that we have done, each day, we try to keep improving. I know that we are not where we aim to be yet, but I know that we are improving and we will get there”.
The JAMB representatives also revealed that the examination body has policy that encourages Nigerians in foreign countries to return and study in the country’ institutions.
Mr Daniel Emenalo, who represented Mr Chikodi Onyemerela, Director of Programs, British Council Nigeria, said that the body understood that collaboration is very key in improving the quality of education.
“We have been doing couple of programmes till 2021 called ‘Connecting Classrooms’, where we engage teachers with 21st century skills with output that will enable them provide workplace learning for their students in the classrooms”, he said.
“This is because we understand that there is a lacuna between what the students are learning in schools and the reality of work place. This is why we are collaborating with teachers in schools to provide for those linkages.
“In our engagement with them, we leverage the best practices in the UK, to develop these converations, curriculum and materials for the teachers, to become better educators and not just teaching Mathematics for students to pass the exams, to teach the subject, to learn critical thinking, problem solving and the rest.
“In the area of tertiary education, we have been bringing academics from different universities together and the NUC too, to design best strategies, best practice and leveraging the expertise and partners to improve our curriculum in the Nigerian educational system”.
He also said that the Council has supported Teachers Registration Council in developing schools’ professional standard, Federal Ministry of Education in developing inclusive education policy, supported NUC, facilitated and partnered many schools and higher institutions in educational development.
The conference had in attendance, President and Chairman of Council, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Gabriel Idahosa; Hon. Consul of the United Republic of Tanzania, Mrs. Toki Mabogunje; former Commissioner for Education, Lagos State, Mrs Folashade Adefisayo, Managing Director/CEO, APD Project Management, Mr Andrew Jibunoh, Founder, Heritage House M,ontessori Centre Schools, Mrs. Debola Atoyebi and other dignitaries.
