Gabriel Dike

The Managing Director of EduMark Consult, Mrs. Yinka Ogunde and concerned stakeholders have appealed to corporate organizations to invest in the education sector.

Also, the Programme Director of Concerned Parents and Educators (CPE), Mrs. Ifeoma Elenitoba-Johnson and Mr. Atul Kshetry of International Data Management Services Ltd (IDM), Lagos, acknowledged the near-absence of corporate bodies in funding education as obtained in other countries.

The trio who spoke at a briefing on the forthcoming Total School Support Seminar and Exhibition (TOSSE) scheduled for June 7 and 8 in Lagos, admitted that government alone can not fund education, thus corporate bodies must show interest by investing huge resources in the sector.

According to Ogunde, it is a sad commentary about the place of corporate Nigeria in the education sector adding ’’we are at a point when we need to understand the gravity of the problems. It is no longer something governmement alone can solve. It is no longer what owners of our private institutions can address.

“We must make our corporate World realize that what we are talking about goes beyond donation of classrooms or toilets or computers. We are talking about our human capital. We are looking at students who are holding certificates and yet cannot write a letter. We are looking at a sector where the early crucial years have been handed over to teachers who are not sufficiently trained to know what to do’’.

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On the forthcoming TOSSE which clocked 10 years, Mrs. Ogunde, disclosed that she started with 30 exhibitors and 300 guests but now attract over 5,000 stakeholders with plans to take the project to Ghana and even round the country.
Ogunde explained that from the inception of TOSSE, the project tried to look at the various challenges facing the education sector and ensure a session is created to profer solution to the problems.

‘’This is a celebration year for us. TOSSE is ten and we have chosen to continue to add value to a sector that holds the key to the development of this nation. The theme for this year is ‘Building strategic partnerships for growth’’, she noted.
The MD of Edumark consult revealed that experience speakers have agreed to tutor school owners and teachers on the numerous topics. She said about 23 states and exhibitors from UK, Togo, Kenya, South Africa and four Finland companies will participate in the 10th edition of TOSSE.

Mr. Kshetry said: ‘’It is important for corporate bodies in Nigeria to get involve in education. They should not leave it to government alone.’’

On ICT, Kshetry said the emphasis has always been on tertiary institutions with the exclusion of primar and secondary schools and that IDM has changed that mentality by providing training for teachers at the lower level of the sector.
Mrs. Elenitoba-Johnson said CPE will hold seminar on drug abuse among youth and parenting in collaboration with schools on how to tackle the menace.

She tasked government to address issues affecting children and also invest in the education sector to better their future.