The School Leaders Association Convention 2018 by Soetan Uwaye

THE SCHOOL LEADERS ASSOCIATION REACHING OUR FULL POTENTIALSÂ

SEPTEMBER 1ST ISSUE 02

ABOUT THE SLA Discover our plans to revolutionize education in Nigeria.

CONVENTION The inside story.

PARTNERS What you should know .

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7 REASONS TO JOIN THE SLA

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BECOME A MEMBER Register here: www.schoolleadersassociation .com

#COMMUNITY #COURSES #CAUSES #CONNECTIONS

THE SLA CONVENTION 2018 THE SLA

WHO WE ARE The SLA is a community of school leaders collaborating on training and projects for school and community development.

OUR MISSION To support each other's personal and professional growth by equipping educators with tools to adequately educate a nation, raising responsive adults.

OUR VISION For uniform and internationally acclaimed standards across institutions of learning in Nigeria.

THE CONVENTION Our aim is to train member schools and with the future of Nigeria in mind, we invite other schools to participate. Our collaboration will minimize and contribute to eradicating inequity in the quality of education offered to children by private schools. Together, we will nurture students who are life long learners, innovators and problem solvers.

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THE FUTURE OF EDUCATION

In the course of training, interacting and connecting with educators, I found out that, the majority of those in need of trainings are unable or unwilling to attend paid trainings. So I came up with the idea of having a group of educators train themselves in their different areas of expertise. The group became known as the School Leaders Association. The group originally started as a WhatsApp group then migrated to facebook to accommodate more educators. Our monthly training topics as well as ad hoc discussions on various topics, are characteristics of the group. Many educators report benefiting personally and professionally from our shares. The SLA Conventions are for educators nationwide, seeking to develop themselves enough to offer quality contents, skills and values to learners. This once a year ritual affords us the opportunity to get together to refresh body, soul and spirit. It's a retreat worth looking forward, to set the tone for the new school year. We focus on themes that explores and sets a framework for the ideal school. The SLA Convention 1.0 theme was, School Development; a lot was said for Quality Control, The Curriculum, Staff Development, Communication, Collaborations and being Conscious Educators.

This year’s SLA Convention 2.0 theme is, The Future of Education and we are addressing, the role for government in delivering the future education, the school leadership culture, teaching and learning methods. Many people ask what the future of education is. They want to know why the Nigerian education system has fallen from it’s former glory and if there is any hope for the future. Once we understand the dynamics of the challenges and link up with the right network, we are halfway through overcoming the problems. We are starting the discussion to engage all education stakeholders in delivering the future education. It is our hope that you would see your part in the whole and connect with the established framework presented.

Uwaye Soetan Director. Fantasia Education Partners and Fantasia City School. Convener, The School Leaders Association.

OUR HONORARY PRESIDENT

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Mrs Folasade Adefisayo CEO Leading Learning Limited.

Folasade Adefisayo is the Principal Consultant/CEO of Leading Learning Limited, an educational consultancy company. She has consulted for public and private schools, state governments, NGO’s and development partners. Her areas of professional focus include teacher training, school set-up and schools transformation and she is on the faculties of a number of major training organisations. She has recently taken up a government appointment as the Administrator of a public secondary school. Folasade has nearly 40 years working experience spanning banking operations, organizational restructuring, human resource management, international trade and education. Folasade retired from Corona Schools' Trust Council in 2010 after twelve years of service. During this period, she was the Executive Director and CEO for over 8 years and retired in August 2010. She voluntarily served as the Director of the Corona Secondary School, Agbara from 2010 to 2014 and finally retired from the services of the Trust Council in August 2014.

Mrs Adefisayo was at our first convention and has remained supportive since then. We are happy to be mentored and guided by her as we work towards realising our goals.

THE TRUSTEES

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Uwaye Soetan is the Founder and Director of Fantasia Education Partners and Fantasia City Schools. She is an education Consultant, a speaker and a coach. Her expertise is in Personal and Professional Development training. She is a graduate of (B.Sc) Information Systems and Management from the University of London. She holds a Verified Virtual Teacher Certificate from University College Irvine, Montessori Early Childhood Diploma from Heritage House Centre, Lagos and a Verified Entrepreneurship Certificate from the University of Maryland. She studied the Clinical Psychology of Children and Adolescence at the University of Edinburg and Social Psychology at Wesleyan University. She has 16 years work experience in startups, marketing communications and education. SLA CHAIRPERSON Martha Da Costa-Sherwood is a dedicated practitioner who is passionate about education and personal development. Born and raised in the UK to Jamaican parents, she is currently working as the Head of Senior School in Nigeria. Martha has a BSc Honours Degree in Business and Psychology and started her career in education in 2005. She earned an MA in Education Leadership and Management from Roehampton University and is currently pursuing an MA in Educational Planning, Economics and International Development from UCL Institute of Education along with an ILM Certificate in Executive Coaching and Mentoring. SLA CONTENT DEVELOPER

Juventus Uzamere is an accomplished professional educator and head of school with over 12 years of proven expertise in teaching curriculum development. Her Strengths include developing creative curriculum observing and evaluating teachers planning lessons and creating favorable learning environments for students and educators. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration and Political science, Diploma in Early Childhood from Heritage House Montessori Centre.Yaba, Lagos. She worked in the media and education sector before starting, Children’s House Montessori School to continue in her passion for developing and transforming young minds for the future. SLA TRESURER

THE EXECUTIVES AND TEAM Seluaona Ubebe is a passionate School Administrator, with Fantasia City Schools. She has over 18 years experience working in Child care, customer service and administration. She has a B.Sc in English and Literature from the university of Benin, Edo State.

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Benjamin Adegoriola is a Managing Partner at Nextsoft Communications. An indigenous Tech, Media and Print agency he co founded in 2006. He is a graduate of international Relations. SLA PRODUCTIONS COORDINATOR

SLA GENERAL SECRETARY

Chidubem Okoye is a legal practitioner with broad experience advising on the entire corporate spectrum from market entry, capital importation and financing, intellectual property protection, to corporate restructuring and commercial dispute resolution.

Theresa Oniru is the founder and director of Whiteoak School. She has worked in education for over 20 years, both in Nigeria and the United Kingdom. She has a B. A in Education and Diploma in Child Care. SLA PUBLIC RELATIONS

SLA LEGAL SECRETARY

Mrs Yemisi Akindele is the founder of High Achievers Academy, a supplementary school and education consulting firm of over 20 years. She consults for education institutions around the world and has received many awards for her commitment to education development.

Joel O. Olaniyan is a prolific educator and trainer with almost a decade year of experience in teaching, learning, school administration and consulting. He holds a degree in Geography Education, from the Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo, University of Ife (OAU).

SLA INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

SLA PROGRAMS COORDINATOR

FRIENDS OF THE SLAÂ 2017/18

AYOPEJU NJIDEAKA

OKEYINFU AJAYI

MAVI ISIBOR

JOY ISA

ADEYOYIN ADESINA

KEHINDE NWANI

FOLARIN ASHIRU

MARY OKON

YINKA AWOBO PEARSE

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JOSEPH AISIDA

JUDE ASIEDU

ABIMBOLA OGUNDERE

SLA EVENTS 2017/18

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THE SLA CONVENTION SPEAKERS MR OBAF E L A BANK- OL E MOH Obafela Bank-Olemoh is the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Education. He is an astute visionary, strategist and administrator per excellence with a verifiable track record of impact in his almost 20 years of professional and social service engagements. Representing a new generation of middle-aged Nigerians, he is passionately committed to the realization of the “New Nigeria”.

MRS F OL AS ADE ADE F I S AYO Folasade Adefisayo is the Principal Consultant/CEO of Leading Learning Limited, an educational consultancy company. Since she started her own consulting practice, she has consulted for public and private schools, state governments, NGO’s and development partners. Her areas of professional focus include teacher training, school setup and schools transformation and she is on the faculties of a number of major training organisations.

MS ABI OL A L AMI KANRA Abiola Lamikanra has acquired 40 years of School Management and Parent liaison experience. This has come from her work in the three levels of Nigerian education – primary, secondary and tertiary. After 19 years of running a family owned school she has for the last 11 years been involved at management level in the international secondary schools’ sector in Nigeria working in Alex Duduyemi Memorial College Ile-Ife, Day Waterman College Abeokuta and currently in City of Knowledge Academy Ijebu-Ode as pioneer Head of School.

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THE SLA CONVENTION SPEAKERS MS MARTHA DA COSTA-SHERWOOD Martha Da Costa-Sherwood is the Head of Senior School at Children's International School, Nigeria. Over the past 12 years she has worked in challenging innercity schools in the UK and British International schools in Nigeria. Throughout her career she has worked in various roles with increasing responsibility, securing outstanding results. Martha is a firm believer in life-long learning and facilitates personal and professional development for individuals and schools across Nigeria and the UK.

MR BENJAMIN ADEGORIOLA Benjamin Adegoriola is the managing partner of Nextsoft Communications. An indigenous Tech, Media and Print agency he co founded in 2006. He is a firm believer in technology playing a major role in determining the future of education in Nigeria and the world at large.

MS ADETOLA SALAU Ms Adetola Salau is a global educator, Engineer and the author of more than ten books, one of which has been critically acclaimed as a roadmap for transforming our educational system; “Re-engineering minds for innovation” She is the Founder and Executive Director of Carisma4U Educational Foundation, a social innovation enterprise that focuses on the transformation of the educational system especially STEM education in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.

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THE SLA CONVENTION SPEAKERS MRS RONKE SOYOMBO

Ronke Soyombo is a writer, an educationist and currently the Director General Office of Education Quality Assurance, Lagos State, Since her assumption of duty as Director-General, Mrs. Ronke Soyombo has embarked on reforms in line with the vision of the Akinwunmi Ambode administration which is to improve the quality and standard of education in Lagos State as well as bridge the gap between children from public and private schools.

MRS ADESUWA IFEDI ADESUWA IFEDI serves as the VP, Policy and Partnerships, at Bridge International Academies, having served as the pioneer Nigerian Expansion Director in 2014. She focuses on working closely with Governments to identify opportunities to strengthen and support the delivery of quality education in the public school space across all African countries where Bridge presently operates.

MR CHARLES NZERIBE Rex Charles Nzeribe is a Team Building and Team Bonding Expert, a Personality Profiler and Thinking Style Analyst, a Research and Content Developer, a Behavioural and Attitudinal Coach. Over the years, he has performed the role of a Sales and Brand executive, Business Development Executive, Research and Content Developer, and Assistant Manager.

THE FUTURE OF EDUCATION IN NIGERIA By Mrs Adeyoyin Adesina, CEO Corona Schools'

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A story is told of a man who desired some precious pearls so much so that he quit his job, sold his property and journeyed to a far land where he believed he would find these pearls. He sought for years but found nothing. Meanwhile, he got news that the man who bought his property had met with good fortune. Upon enquiry, he found out that the very pearls he had sought all his life were uncovered right under the property he had sold. What a perfect analogy depicting the very life of Nigeria’s educational system! Education is the bedrock of a country’s development and any country that does not educate its populace is bound to fail. The education system must therefore be given adequate attention. I believe that in spite the many challenges plaguing our nation, Nigeria’s educational system has the very potential to become the model in Africa. One might be tempted to dwell on the past – times when our secondary school leaving certificates were acceptable entrance criteria into some universities in the United Kingdom and wonder what happened to us. Where did we get it all wrong? Let’s take a quick look at the education system in Nigeria, how it has fared so far; and some of the major challenges facing education in Nigeria. This is important because the future of education in this great nation cannot really be ascertained without taking proper cognizance of its past, especially its challenges and weaknesses. The genesis of formal education in Nigeria could be traced back to the year 1842, introduced by Christian missionaries who managed the educational system according to their respective philosophies. 1842 marked the birth of the first primary school in Nigeria and 1859 marked the establishment of the first secondary school in Nigeria. The education system is mainly run by the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Education. The government also grants permission to private ownership of educational facilities at all the levels of education; primary, secondary and tertiary. This permit is only granted after some standard requirements have been met by such private individuals/entities. The Federal Ministry of Education in Nigeria is saddled with the responsibility to: • Formulate and co-ordinate a national policy on education. • Collect and collate data for purposes of education planning and financing. • Prescribe and maintain uniform standard of education throughout the Country. • Control and monitor the quality of education in the country. • Harmonise educational policies and procedures of all the states of the federation through the instrumentality of the National Council on Education (NCE). • Effect co-operation in educational matters on an international scale. • Develop curricula and syllabuses at the national level. Objectively speaking, the Federal Ministry of Education has not wholly carried out these responsibilities. One of the major challenges for this is the instability in government or rather, of continuity in each preceding government. Since the declaration of her independence, one government after the other had always come up with its own agenda and due to the absence of a constituted policy on the continuity of an education system enforceable by law, there has been no consistent progression. In public and private practice, many leaders appear to seek to uphold their own interest above that of their followers. Visionless leadership would only get us into bigger problems. If advancement must be developed and sustained in Nigeria, education must be given priority in fiscal and implemental matters. We saw during the Babangida era (1985-1993) continuous changes in education systems from one minister to another. That is the reason a government comes in today and starts a completely different agenda without eventually completing it. A subsequent administration takes over and either replaces or totally abandons the agenda of the former administration. No society will really progress without proper continuity plans, regardless of the change in government. This lack of continuity has been a major challenge, mitigating the efficiency of the education system. Perhaps one of the proof of leadership challenge is in quality control. Innovative progress in education requires a rigorous evaluation framework that balances new ideas with environmental imperatives. A national identity cannot be achieved in an environment where there is no harmony in the curricula that the populace is served. Where such is thus established, strict procedures must be put in place to ensure that high quality is maintained across all levels of educational institutions. Other challenges facing the system are relative to the subdivisions of the system Furthermore, there is a dearth of passionate teachers in our schools. Many choose teaching as a last resort. When more people choose to teach by choice and not by chance, we would have more inspirational teachers in our classrooms whose commitment to their work would inevitably produce better character and academic performance in the students.

In a recent publication in one of the national dailies, The Minister of Education, Alhaji Adamu Adamu, during a two-day International Literacy Day conference organised by the National Commission for Mass Education said the country had about 65 to 75 million illiterates, describing the figure as unbecoming and high, considering the country’s population. This does make one shudder and ask, truly, is there a future for education in Nigeria? Nevertheless, between 1859 and now, Nigerian education has witnessed remarkable growth and changes. Technological advancement over the years has greatly influenced the education system in Nigeria. The education system transitioned from the charcoal era to the smart board era. The advancement of technology and ICT integration is fast becoming an ideal in most educational institutions hence the need for Nigeria to wake up. With adequate, long term planning, realistic and objective policies and implementation, the future of education in Nigeria can stand shoulder to shoulder with other advanced countries. There is hope. Nigeria is not all about her problems. While the Nigerian curriculum has received criticisms over the years, it is still rich and productive. Many Nigerians are at par with their counterparts around the world. Emerging trends in the educational sector, albeit in the private sector, is that students are being adequately prepared for the everchanging, fast-paced, space-age future that we already see happening. The value for education has increased, especially in this decade. Many parents who did not have access to education in their time make it a duty to ensure that their own children go to school. This attitude toward education is at an all-time high this decade than before. This means we have faith in this system and believe that education is the key to solving major problems like poverty. Nigerians are relatively more exposed than many other African countries and we have easier access to recent modern technological devices that aid learning. Many of our private schools are equipped with interactive white boards, laptops, tablets and other helpful devices. This is something that can be harnessed to provide quality education for our students thereby making them better problem solvers. It’s a journey that has commenced and that’s moving at a fast-accelerated pace. However, with this gathering momentum is a down side. They say our strength is in our number, but when a larger number of people throng the cities while a few remain in the towns and villages, this creates a population density challenge which poses a threat on the possibility of achieving evenness in development. Equally, we seem to be pulled apart by what makes us most flowery – diversity in culture and language. Until we can harness the strength in our diversity, we will only end up imploding and working against each other as a people. “Though we are many, we are one body” should be our maxim. Over-reliance on foreign products and ideas also puts us at risk of losing originality and killing the creativity of our local research and industry. Where text materials, resources and even curricula are imported, people definitely face the risk of losing national identity and the journey to national transformation and reorientation becomes a long, arduous one. In a country where over 70% of its 180 million people cannot afford to spend more than N300 daily, there is much less that can be said about a motivation to learn. This brings to mind the Yoruba proverb that says, “When hunger gains entrance into a stomach, no other word can have access to it.” When the problem of poverty is significantly tackled, our vast population would have a greater value for education and national development than we currently do. Nigeria has a remarkable breed of human resource. Our people abound in resilience, ingenuity and zest. We blaze the trail all over the world. Our resilience is next to none. We have the capacity to improvise in the midst of the most strenuous circumstances. All these gifts and abilities, if channelled into a venture such as achieving a great feat in global educational standard would yield great results for us as a nation. Great opportunities abound for Nigeria in public-private partnerships. Some organisations (not only academic establishments) have made tremendous progress in research and teaching methodologies. The government should seek to partner with such establishments in a bid to revitalise the educational system. This form of partnership certainly has great benefits. Indeed, if we choose to see the future of education from the lenses of our strengths and the opportunities that abound to us, we would realise that we are well-placed in a position to lead the African continent in innovation and global influence. Meanwhile, if we tactfully limit the effect of our weaknesses on us and tackle the issues that threaten our progress, we would not be hindered in becoming a nation to be reckon with in education. We are already living in times where information abounds and human intelligence is simulated. Today’s solutions are tomorrow’s problems. Recent trends in the information and communications technology, shows that education is going through phenomenal technological changes, which makes it vital for us to project and create policies, especially in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) that would shape the future of our learners. I do not see that happening now on a global scale… and I fear that our future may come upon us suddenly with only a few of us ready, while other 3rd world nations, may leave us behind. It is imperative that we take a few steps backward, plan, assess future possibilities in education and learning in 20 years’ time and use this information to make choices to set better long-range educational policies. It takes adequate and meticulous planning. The future of education in Nigeria is not a hope lost at all. The future of education in Nigeria is simply a matter of decision and priority. It starts with the individuals and the buck does stop on the table of leaders in all spheres of influence.

PARTNERS

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