A non-governmental organisation, Path to Possibilities, has called on the government and relevant stakeholders to invest the right amount of work, commitment and resources to transform the country’s education sector.
The director of the organisation, Oluwafunmilayo Akanmu, emphasised the importance of educating the next generation and called on both private and public sectors to step up measures of enhancing learning.
Addressing journalists in Lagos, Akanmu noted that the Ja-pa syndrome and brain drain prevalent in the nation are symptoms of an underlying problem, which is the absence of a good education system.
She also called for better inclusion of children with enhanced educational needs, expressing the foundation’s desire to equip teachers in Nigeria, especially those in under-served communities, on how to deal with learning deficits. She added that changing the perception of such issues would help improve how it is being handled as everyone had a part to play.
“A year ago, we visited schools in Ikota, Lagos, to access what the deficits are and in a school, one of the students had a learning delay, but because there is no provision on how to deal with such children, he was put in a class he is above and so wasn’t benefiting. This is one area in the education system in Nigeria that is lacking the resources, experience, information, and expertise to allow children to learn and thrive,” she said.
Speaking on the importance of reading culture, founder, Titilolami Bello, lamented that it is difficult to promote such in a country with the most out-of-school children in the world.
Apart from a resource centre, Bello said the foundation provides scholarship funds for secondary school students, especially in under-served communities throughout their studies.
Already, she stated that 16 children are currently benefiting from the foundation’s scholarship scheme, and announced plans to expand the initiative to the north.
According to Bello, their biggest impact has been the establishment of the resource centre in 2017 to reach more children. She also added that they have training sessions where teachers in UK share best practices with their counterparts in local schools.
