Some stakeholders in the education sector have brainstormed on empowering students with the tools and knowledge necessary for success in a digital future.
At a programme organised in Abuja under the topic; ‘The Leader in Me,’ they emphasised the need for Nigeria to have the right tools for digital education and right implementation partners.
Teesas Leader in Me (LIM) is a whole-school transformation program delivered in partnership with FranklinCovey Education, a global performance improvement company. The program based on the ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ is integrated with teaching core academic subjects including Maths, English and Science through the Teesas Education App.”
It addresses school development in three aspects: culture, leadership and academics and prepares students for a global economy and equips them with skills to successfully navigate a world of constant change and choice.
Speaking with journalists at the event on Tuesday, the CEO, Teesas Education, Mr. Osayi Izedonmwen said the world is moving from the typical way education is delivered where we rely on hard copy books, outdated teaching methods, hence the need to adapt.
“What we are doing today is bringing educators from all kinds of schools which we train them and give them insight on how to first of all develop leadership skills in the Students in their schools and also equip them with education management tools that will help them transform and effectively manage their schools and prepare them and their students for the future of work and the Anchor for that Programme is what we called the ‘leader in me’
“What the leader in me tends to do is to imbibe in young learners from the very foundational age the skills and the tools to enable them be effective in the society.
“We are already collaborating with a couple of states and our vision is to collaborate with every single state in the country and even at national level because if we can prepare our children for the future of work, give them the right digital tools and skills and also train them on leadership then the country is better off for it.
The keynote speaker, Honourable Adefisayo an academic and former Commissioner of Education, Lagos State said that the Teesas LIM programme includes topics like personal leadership which teaches children to take responsibility, leading to less disciplinary problems. She also highlighted other topics covered by the program like win-win solutions and sharpen the saw.
“IQ gets you a job, but emotional intelligence helps you keep it. Emotional intelligence can be taught and mastered because habits are things we continually do,” she said.
Justin Permenter, Regional Director of FranklinCovey Education said that research suggests that by the year 2050, nearly half of the world’s children under 18 will be on the African continent so while it would be an exciting time for Africa, it is time for Africa to prepare for that future.
Also speaking during a panel session, Dr. Abimbola Ogundere, a global leadership expert, coach and CEO, LAIT Africa emphasised the need to implement socio-emotional learning in schools using the Teesas LIM because of the lack of empathy, disrespect, bullying and disregard for authority by some students.
“Children who are not brought up properly cannot be functional adults. Parents must celebrate their children for being empathetic as much as they celebrate them for scoring good grades,” she said.
