An education technology company, Teesas, has disclosed that its transformative ‘Leader in Me’ (LIM) training programme would address gaps at the basic education sub-sector.

This is even as it made a case for leadership and socio-emotional skills, as well as digital education in Nigerian schools.

The Chief Executive Officer of Teesas, Osayi Izedonmwen, who stated this in Abuja at a programme for school owners, stakeholders and top managers in the education sector, said the training addresses school development in three aspects: culture, leadership and academics.

Izedonmwen said it also prepares students for a global economy and equips them with skills to successfully navigate a world of constant change and choice.

The training, he said, was meant to equip educators in northern Nigeria with management tools that will help in transforming their schools and train students for the future.

Izedonmwen noted that projection by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) indicates that by 2050, about 50 per cent of children globally will be in Africa. This, he said, comes with opportunities and challenges.

“One of the biggest challenges is that we will be producing a large workforce that would need to be equipped with tools relevant for the future.

“Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other tools are growing very quickly. So, you don’t want to build a workforce that is incapable of adding value to the economy,” he added.

The keynote speaker and former Commissioner for Education in Lagos State, Folasade Adefisayo, noted that the Teesas LIM programme covers personal leadership, which teaches children to take responsibility, leading to less disciplinary problems.

On his part, Regional Director of FranklinCovey Education, Justin Permenter, said while it would be an exciting time for Africa to have nearly half of the world’s children by the year 2050, it is time for the continent to prepare for that future.

He noted that there has been a shift from industrial to the knowledge age, stressing that analytical and creative thinking, technological literacy, empathy and active listening, leadership and social influence, are some of the top skills identified in the World Economic Forum Future of Jobs 2023 report.