Experts call for employments of mentors in public, private schools

Educational experts in Nigeria, have called for the immediate employments of mentors in public and private schools, looking at the need to choose relevant careers ahead of the fourth industrial revolution.

They said the fourth revolution that is coming, will create a serious impact on the type of skills people have acquired.

Speaking at the leadership and mentorship summit, organised by I.N.V.E.N.T Project in partnership with Action for Change and Empowerment (ACE), in Lagos, Chief Executive Officer/Lead Consultant, Brandcraft Nigeria, Mr. Reuben Onwubiko, said Nigeria students need to be aware of the type of skills required in other to be relevant in the future.

According to him, the future of mankind in the world will be determined to a large extent by the fourth industrial revolution.

“Most jobs will be automated. This means that some of the present skills now will not be relevant in the future. We should be looking at skills in artificial intelligence, genetically modified or engineered farming and skills to address climate change. There are old mindsets that need to be dropped in other to fit in into the future. One of such is the notion that work can only take place in a particular place and not from home. We all are witnessing in Nigeria that today, people work from home and from other different locations.

“The second aspect is that we must monitor time spent at work to ensure productivity. Productivity is no longer measured by time but by the result,” he stressed.

Principal Facilitator, I.N.V.E.N.T Project, Mr. Elijah Olupona, commended the Lagos State government for the support given to the programme and pleaded for more support from organisations, as they are still more things needed to be done to give the Nigeria youths a secured future.

He further commended Sahara Foundation, ACE Foundation, Elderberry, and others for their immense support of their project.

Olupona noted that the project has been a huge success since its inception in 2012 and hundreds of students have either passed through or still in the mentorship programme, arranged by their organisation.

“Those who are through with our mentorship programme, are doing very well in their various careers of choice. And our major challenge presently is financing to take the project to the next level by expanding the scope of the project and beyond Lagos State. The essence of the project, is to provide a secured future for our youths and this can only be achieved by guiding the students to make the right choices by placing them under mentors,” he explained.

Clinical Radiation Oncologist, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Dr. Adedayo Joseph, said the educational curriculum should be made to produce all-around graduates.

She admonished the students to be dedicated as there is no other route to success in life than through hard work.

She said that one cannot cheat throughout life rather one day the incompetence will throw the person out.

“Two key points that are important in achieving success in life. One is self-knowledge and the other is self-leadership. In self-knowledge, one identifies what is good for him or her and applies it without considering what is good for another person. On self-leadership, self-motivation comes in without waiting for another person’s prompting. Students should not read to pass exams but to improve their lives, change their circumstances, and determine what they want to be in the future,” she advised.

Consultant with Schlumberger company, Mrs. Hope Ovie-Thompson, advised that parents need not only to know their children but be part of them.

“ The parents should be in a position to advise their children because not every child can make a career choice of his or her own. Parents should be able to help children identify their God’s talents and then channel them towards a path that will be beneficial for them,” she appealed.