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36 THISDAY • WEDNESDAY MAY 20, 2015 EDUCATION LearnAfrica Trains Teachers of Core Subjects Peace Obi Inspired by the fact that the attainment of any nation’s educational goals depends largely on the quality of its teachers, LearnAfrica Plc, publishers of educational and instructional materials recently organised a one-day workshop titled ‘A New Beginning in the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics and English Language’, for select primary school teachers in Lagos State. The workshop, which had specialists in the subjects of focus as resource persons, was designed to empower teachers handling core subjects such as English Language and Mathematics to improve their effectiveness in teaching, as well as expose them to some new teaching techniques that will make the learning of these subjects easier for the students. It was also meant to provide update for teachers and school administrators on the new curriculum that was introduced last September, as well as the presentation of some of the new books the publishing outfit has come up with in response to the requirements of the new curriculum. The Managing Director, Mr. Segun Oladipo, said the workshop was one of the company’s initiatives at improving the teaching skills of the teachers drawn from public and private schools in the state. “This is the first in the series for this year; this workshop will take place in other selected locations like Ibadan, Owerri, Abuja, Zaria and Jos within the next one week. “It is one of our initiatives to support teacher education so that they can sharpen their skills and acquire additional knowledge that will empower them to improve their effectiveness in teaching, make learning more interesting for the students.” Oladipo, who commended the state government for its massive investment in education, said the state has demonstrated its strong believe in using education as a tool for development. Declaring the event open, the Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye, represented by the Director, Research and Curriculum Department, Mrs. Joy Ojei, said for the newly introduced curriculum to be fully put into use, a lot of work has to be done. “With the new curriculum we have now, we have a lot of things to do, particularly in the primary section. I am happy that LearnAfrica is carrying out this workshop because it means before our next book review we would have the materials like books to work with as regards the new curriculum.” She assured the participants of being in safe hands, saying that given the state’s long dealings with the publishing outfit, it has been adjudged a good and reliable partner as far as education is concerned. She also advised them to find a way of replicating what they learnt in their various schools. The Director and Head, South West Zone, Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council, Dr. Moses Salau, said the curriculum review became necessary as the old one could no longer serve the country’s educational needs, as well as the need to make it remain globally competitive. He added that the curriculum change is aimed at dealing with the issues of illiteracy by initiating such educational policy that would make Nigerian children, irrespective of their gender or the socio-economic status of the parents, have access to education without an option of dropping out of school within the first nine years. “With the basic education programme, when a child enters primary one, he/ she is not allowed to drop out until he/she spends the first nine years in school. And it is a criminal offense to allow a child drop out of school. “A child must spend a minimum of nine years in school because we want to tackle the basic problems of illiteracy. We want to have an educated hairdresser, educated driver, tailor, educated gardner.” Don’t Let Reading Die! •Our world is gradually moving away from books and reading and firmly endorsing computer monitors and television screens over and above reading. The importance of developing a passion for reading cannot be overlooked. Reading is a habit and should be established when the child is relatively young. What then can parents do to foster this habit? If your’re a new mum, read and sing to your child while he/ she is still in your womb. Scientific research has shown that this contributes to children’s language development. Read stories, rhymes, poems to your children while they are babies, toddlers and young children. There are specially written books for children of all ages. This way you’d be initiating children into the world of books and reading. Your little ones could repeat words and sentences after you; answer simple context based questions; make simple predictions on the text and even summarise the story. There are excellent well graded reading books available in bookshops today.They are structured to help your children go from simple words and contents to more challenging texts. Enroll your child for reading classes to take the burden off you and widen their horizon. There are many well structured reading classes and software that aim to draw children back to books. They help children with diction, idioms and phrases. For younger children, these classes can be fun with animated characters and pictures. Illustrated picture books, rhymes, silly songs and pretend stories all attract the younger child. Use creativity to capture your child’s vivid imagination. Identify and explore your child’s interest. Respect your child’s genre preferences. If your child has a favorite character, pick a series of books that feature this character. For your son, it may be Spiderman, Tror, Captain America, Iron-man while for a girl, it may be Scarlet Witch, Barbie, Black Widow, Annabel, Hanna Montana and so on. It would be a great idea to build a home-library. A skill like reading cannot be learnt in isolation. Do not leave all the hard work to the school programme. Pick up books that you think your child would like. The internet is also a rich resource of reading games that would attract little children to reading. Omoru writes from the UK Firms Inaugurate Digital Classroom to Boost Learning L-R: Mr. Bode Benard Guest, Managing Director Brand Optimal, Mr. Otis Ojeikhoai, and Chairman, Ridos House Montgomery School Mr. Dave Akharume, during the first Inter-house sports competition of the school, held recently Anambra Emerges Zonal Winner of NNPC Quiz Contest Benjamin Nworie in Abakaliki Anambra State has emerged the overall zonal winner of the 2015 NNPC National Quiz Competition held in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, and will represent the zone at the national quiz competition which will hold in Abuja later in the year. Anambra pulled a total of 55 points to defeat other schools from Enugu, Abia, Ebonyi and Imo States in a keenly contested quiz contest in English Language, Physic, Biology, Chemistry and Mathematics. The breakdown showed that Anambra got 55 points, Imo 45 points, Ebonyi and Enugu got 40 points each while Abia got 30 points. Speaking at the end of the competition, the National Coordinator of the programme, Mr. Olutago Sanni, said NNPC is paying attention to the national quiz competition because “we see it as an instrument for enhancing science education in the country.” He expressed hope that the exercise would further coach students towards their promotion and qualifying examinations, build friendship among them and enlighten students and the public on NNPC’s activities. According to Sanni, the feedback it received showed that the the objectives have already been met, adding that more students on NNPC’s scholarship are graduating with distinction and impressive results. The acting Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, NNPC, Mr. Mbajiogu Nicholas, added that apart from the school quiz NNPC carries out other development prwogrammes such as provision of social amenities, infrastructure projects, scholarships, enlightenment programmes, reaching out to the needy, employment of young graduates and experienced hires into the system. Ridos House Holds First Inter-house Sports Ridos House Montessori School, Lagos recently held its maiden inter-house sports competition at the LASU Museum Centre with pomp and excitement. After a keenly contested competition among the pupils who were grouped into four houses, Emerald/Green, Topaz/ Yellow, Coral/Red and Sapphire/Blue, Topaz House emerged winner with 12 gold, four silver and five bronze medals. Emerald House came second with nine gold, 13 silver and six bronze medals, while Coral House came third with six gold, 11 silver and seven bronze medals. The competition featured track events like 15m, 50m, 75m, 100m and 200m races, picking the balls, invited school race, filling the bottle, sack race, relay race, parents’ race, staff race, march past, among others. In her remarks, the Managing Director of the school, Mrs. Toritseju Akharume, said academics and sports education complement each other, adding that physical activity is vital to the holistic development of young people, as well as fosters the physical, social and emotional health. Akharume said within school, physical education is an essential component of quality education, adding, “not only do physical education programmes promote physical activity, such programmes also correlate to improve academic performance under certain conditions, while sports can also under the right conditions provide health alternatives to deviant behavior. Funmi Ogundare Robotel Incorporated, Canada, in partnership with Topteck, recently inaugurated its Smart Class, a 21st century digital classroom and language laboratory management solution, designed to enhance teaching and learning in schools. Speaking at the town hall meeting with stakeholders in Lagos, the Executive Director, Robotel Incorporated, Mr. Yanick Demers, expressed hope that the initiative would help fill the gap where schools are facing challenges. “We can leverage on the potential of the technology in order to benefit schools”, he said, adding that over the past 30 years, his organisation has developed computer classroom laboratories with more than 10,000 systems installed in more than 75 countries around the world and how ICT had been able to impact education and empower teachers with the right tools. He recalled how he met its partner, Toptek, represented by its Managing Director, Mr. Babatunde Olusanya, saying, “last year, Olusanya came to see us in Canada. Over the past 15 years, I received many potential partners; none of them was as convincing as him. He came with a plan, describing the needs of the education sector in Nigeria, and how Robotel and Topteck could work together. “He obviously described the many challenges of introducing new educational technologies in Nigeria. But he showed me passionately that he had a clear vision about the development of ICT for the education sector.” In his remarks, Olusanya described Robotel as an organisation of integrity, saying that their aim is to deliver products to schools and provide students the platform to work at any time and at their own pace with the technology. “We have the opportunity to increase the level of teaching for students to practice intensively and develop their skills in the language laboratory. The platform is world acclaimed and so far institutions like Adeleke University, Osun State, Redeemers University, Ede and Babcock University, Ilisan Remo, Ogun State have bought into the idea.” The Dean, Faculty of Arts, University of Lagos, Prof. Abayomi Akinyeye, said since the world is becoming a global village, the teaching and learning of languages has become imperative, adding that the language laboratory has become the mean to interact with a larger classroom digitally. He congratulated Robotel for identifying the crucial areas of intervention in institutions.
THISDAY • WEDNESDAY MAY 20, 2015 37 Stakeholders Advocate Compulsory Study of French in Higher Institutions Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City Stakeholders in the education sector have called for the adoption of the French Language as a compulsory course in the general studies programme of universities, polytechnics and colleges of education. They said its importance include creating more job opportunities for graduates of various disciplines, as well as the reduction in the rate of unemployment in the country. This was the outcome of the second biennial international conference of the Department of Foreign Languages, University of Benin, held recently. The convener, Prof. Raymond Elahor, in a communique, harped on the vast opportunities in the study of French Language, calling on the federal government to implement the UNESCO policy to which Nigeria is a signatory, which urged the government to allocate at least 26 per cent of its annual budget to education. Elahor, who disclosed that the curriculum of polytechnics should include French Language, added that doing so would make their graduates function properly in the sub-region where French is the dominant language. “To actualise the current government policy that makes French Language compulsory from primary to junior secondary level, the federal government should immediately set up a special programme for the massive training of French teachers to be deployed to that level. “In view of the extreme importance of French as the second official language in Nigeria, first class graduates of French should benefit from the current federal government policy of awarding automatic scholarships for postgraduate studies in selected disciplines which should be tenable in France and/or other francophone countries,” Elahor said. FOR QUALITY EDUCATION L-R: Communications Manager, MeadowHall Group, Ronke Fasalojo; Head, MeadowHall Foundation, Kemi Adewale; Chief Executive Officer, MeadowHall Group, Kehinde Nwani and Head, MeadowHall Education, Ola Opesan, during a media parley on MeadowHall Group’s activities in Lagos...recently Meadow Hall Repositions for Quality Education Delivery RUNNING the CLASSROOM EDUCATION CHIOMA ERUOTOR chisandic@yahoo.com End the School Year with a Bang I often see myself as a basket, the liquid filters through for purification. As I looked at my school photos over the years, I consider myself very lucky individual to have all these wonder children pass through me in their journey of life. Every new school year in September, a teacher’s door, mind, heart and arms are open wide to accept the new blessings and challenges that come his/her way. No set of children will ever be the same. As I receive a new set, I often wonder about the previous, how they are getting on without me and if I will be able to get over them too. A teacher only has 11 months to spend with his/her new found children, so as I often say to teachers, they should make those eleven months the best eleven months of their lives as they will leave you and move on to the next. Build relationships and memories that will last a life time. Set milestones and cross the academic hurdles that are set before the children. Be a motivator, a counselor, a doctor, an aunt, a brother, a sister, a best friend, a mum, a dad and above all, a teacher. As the school year gradually draws to an end, it is of utmost importance to look back and reflect on the academic year that was, and evaluate the work that you have done. Reflect on the level the children were when they first started the school year with you, and the level they are now and see if there is a progression in their levels. Aside from the academics, we are also responsible for teaching them moral values. The busy world in which parents and care givers find themselves today, gives little or no time for a personal relationship with children. More often than not, the teacher knows the children more than the families, hence families are looking up to the school and the teacher for a total child. As we count down to the end of the school year, it is of utmost importance that teachers take out time to recharge their batteries, go on a holiday, do a lot of research. These are essential for the new set of children that will look up to you, come September. I often say to teachers, plan the last week of the school year. Make it a fun one, let the children reflect and tell you how the journey was with you and the new found friends that they have bonded with. Ask them what their expectations will be for the new school year and the class ahead; ask them to keep a diary, look in on some of them if you are able to, take pictures of those last few days, write them a good bye letter, kindly personalise the letters, as each child must have touched you in a special way, write a goodbye letter to the families as well. And please feel free to get emotional on the last day, if you feel the need to drop a few tears, please do. Get them a simple parting gift. Trust me, they will cherish it forever. End the school year with a BANG!! •Eruotor writes from Lagos As part of efforts to create opportunities for holistic development of Nigerian children, irrespective of their socio-economic status, Meadow Hall Group has announced that entrepreneurs and non-governmental organisations within and outside the country that are passionate about producing a total child, can now leverage on its experience and cutting-edge resources and services. The Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Kehinde Nwani, who made this known recently at a media parley to announce the activities of the Meadow Hall Group and its subsidiaries, said the organisation’s belief that all Nigerian children should have access to world class opportunities for all-round development informed the establishment of the five subsidiaries. They five subsidiaries are Meadow Hall Education, which is the flagship of the organisation; Meadow Hall Consult; Meadow Hall Foundation; Spring Meadow Edutainment; and Meadow Hall Branchise. Nwani described the survival and evolution of Meadow Hall as a story of resilience, passion, purpose and patriotism, adding that though the education arm started in 2002 as an infant/ junior school in the Lekki area of Lagos, the brand has grown into a multicompetency business, owing to its commitment to creating an enduring platform for enhancing the potential of the Nigerian child. She said Meadow Hall Education focuses on the cognitive development of children and equipping them with skills that would make them relevant in the 21st century workplace. The school comprises infant and junior schools in the Lekki and Ikoyi environs, as well as a college in Lekki. According to her, Meadow Hall Consult is the educational consulting arm of the group which offers consultancy services designed to enhance teachers’ skills and promote classroom productivity through its various continuous development courses. “To date, the Meadow Hall Consult has trained nearly 4,000 teachers drawn mostly from public schools on the platforms of partnership ventures such as Eko Project, Edu Camp, InnerCity Mission School and SOS Children’s Villages Nigeria. “Meadow Hall Consult is also involved in training leaders in education on managing and leading their various schools effectively through its leadership academy, as well as running a finishing school for teachers, thereby making them into well rounded individuals qualified to raise well rounded children.” The CEO said Meadow Hall Foundation, as the non-profit arm of the group was established to support communities, public schools and the less privileged through various charitable interventions and programmes such as adoption programmes, mentoring and scholarship programmes, among others. “Meadow Hall Foundation recently adopted Ilasan Primary school, Lekki as the pilot school under the School Adoption Programme to improve its educational standards. It also trains fresh graduates who are passionate about the education sector in international best practices for three months at no cost through its Graduate Trainee Programme.” She said the Spring Meadow Edutainment Company (SME) was set up to inspire and nurture creativity in children through specially designed programmes that provide opportunities for fun, entertainment and learning in non-cognitive areas, while the Meadow Hall Branchise is a platform to partner other entrepreneurs with a passion for children to replicate its services in several locations across the country and beyond through its franchise scheme. Edumark Holds TOSSE Seminar Peace Obi Edumark Consult is set to hold the seventh edition ofTotal School Support Seminar/Exhibition (TOSSE) on the June 11 and 12, 2015 at Ten Degrees Events Center, Oregun, Lagos. The Managing Director, Goals and Ideas and Principal Consultant, Edumark, Mrs. Yinka Ogunde told Journalists, recently that critical attention has to be paid to the development of the nation’s education system, adding that TOSSE is designed to meet the need for new technology, innovative ideas, new approaches and many other issues the present day society is being faced with daily and particularly, the education community. Given the ever changing world and the emergence of new approach to doing things, she stressed the need for education community to keep up with the global trend in the sector which has become more necessary than ever. “This is a service the Total School Support Seminar/Exhibition has been providing for the past six years in this country. Keeping up with a dynamic and fast moving world is the challenge facing educators globally. How can you cope, how do you face children of today if you don’t know about their world? “To help the education community in Africa community keep up with global trends in the field of education, we find it imperative to create the right platform .” she said.Ogunde said the programme has for the past years enjoyed good attendance and accolades from participants and partners as every year’s edition is uniquely designed to improve the knowledge of participating teachers, educators and administrators such that they are empowered to function better in their respective fields.
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