Peace Obi
The Managing Director, EDUMARK Consult, Mrs. Yinka Ogunde has said that given the critical role education plays in the development of every society, the need for quality manpower in the sector remains essential for qualitative education delivery.
Attributing the development witnessed in most advanced countries to their huge investment in education, she hinted that no country can become greater than its teachers.
Briefing Journalists, recently during on the 9th edition of the Total School Support Seminars and Exhibition (TOSSE), in Lagos, Ogunde said some of the developed countries have also synchronised their academia with the industry, thereby bringing about the needed interaction between town and gown.
She said the 2017 edition has been designed to accommodate the whole tripod in education; educators, parents and students, adding that it is aimed at providing training for Nigerian teachers, educators and other stakeholders in education from around the world.
“This year, we are bringing in educators, parents and students. We have concentrated on the educators for a while, but increasingly, there is an obvious gap in parent education which we believe that some of the sessions in TOSSE will help to solve,” the managing director said.
She said her organisation is committed to the development of human resources in the education sector, as it is the major reason for the continuous investment in TOSSE.
According to her, “It is our own way of contributing to training the trainers. It is clear that when teachers are well equipped with up to-date knowledge on methods, models, metrics and modern tools of their art, their delivery in the classroom will improve, their relationship with students will improve and we will record more positive learning outcomes. Then teachers will share relevant knowledge and functional education that goes beyond rote learning.
“This year, we are running 18 free seminars. A teacher is as good as his last training which in education space is called Continuous Professional Development(CPD). They are to cover a wide range of education, social and emotional topics for educators. The topics are chosen based on the current pulse of the sector. They are carefully selected to provide solutions to pressing or imminent challenges so that even if a school or an educator cannot afford the cost of workshops and seminars elsewhere, by simply brining all the members of staff to TOSSE once a year, the teacher can be up-to-date on improved and revolutionised ways of delivering quality education.”
Ogunde noted that, every year, special sessions are held to show teachers what is new in the world of education, saying, “this year, we are extending the ‘What’s New’ segment to one full hour. During this period, educators can learn about new strides, methods and technologies that have worked elsewhere which can adapted to our own unique system.
The representative of school owners at the conference, Mrs. Toyin Idowu described TOSSE as one event that offers great value to participants.
“There is no limit to what can be learnt; even if it is not from the seminars, you get to see how things are done,†she said.
The event which is scheduled to hold on June 2, 2017 at Ten Degrees Event Centre Oregun, Lagos, will witness the convergence of educators from more than 20 states of the federation, international delegates from countries like Ghana, Cameroun, Uganda, as well as over 100 exhibitors.
It will feature public speakers including; Mr. Praise Fowowe, Taiwo Akinlami and the Managing Director of Greenspring Schools, Mrs. Lai Koiki.
