The Tutor-General/Permanent Secretary, Education District II, Maryland, Lagos, Mr. Olusanya Ebenezer Abayomi, on Wednesday, September 5, 2018, organised a one day intervention training programme for school managers on the types of leadership and managerial skills required in the management of public schools in Lagos State.
The programme, which was organized in collaboration with the office of Education Quality Assurance, took place at Oriwu Model College, Ikorodu, and was attended by over 738 Principals and Vice Principals from Secondary Schools across the Education District. They were grouped in two sessions by the Director-General, Office of Education Quality Assurance (OEQA), Dr. (Mrs.) Ronke Soyombo and taught types of managerial skills, leadership styles and changes to be adopted when there are challenges in school management.
Dr. Soyombo, during the lecture, urged teachers to make efforts towards improving the English reading abilities of their students for better academic performance. She explained that one of the major reasons students fail exams, especially Mathematics, was their inability to interprete exam questions, which are written in English Language. She expressed confidence that the problem would be solved once their English Language reading ability improves. She charged teachers to always allow students to take control of their learning by giving them tasks that would enable them engage in research to obtain more information and ideas, and come back to class to discuss their findings with their mates.
According to her, such tasks would enable the students to develop research skills, which would equip them with more knowledge beyond what their teachers have taught them in the classroom.
Dr. Soyombo also tasked the participants on the need to train their students on how to make proper and effective use of the Library and Information Communication Technology (ICT) rooms in their schools to enhance their research and learning ability. She implored the School Managers to put in place effective security arrangement in order to ensure the safety and security of lives and property within the school environment.
The Director-General told them to put in place measures to checkmate sexual and emotional abuse of students. She equally requested that sexual abuse incidents against students should be reported by the school management within twenty four hours to the office of Education Quality Assurance for urgent action.
Soyombo, in her further explanation, told the teachers that the office of Quality Assurance was set up to ensure strict compliance with the quality and standard of teachings and management expected in public schools across Lagos State. Afterwards, questions were entertained from participants and Dr. Soyombo responded to them. There was a brief closing remarks by Mrs. O. S. Agunloye, Director, Administration and Human Resources, Education District II, and reading of the programme’s communique to the participants respectively.
Meanwhile, while speaking with Oriwu Sun, Soyombo commended the Tutor-General/Permanent Secretary, Education District II, for ensuring that the right people were put in charge of the educational management in the district. She disclosed that her office has been collaborating with the school managers and teachers in both public and private schools in the State through regular stakeholders’ meetings and trainings to ensure that they understand what the State Government wants in terms of quality education being given to students across the State.
The Director General remarked that such collaboration has led to substantial improvements in the standard of education in the State. She expressed confidence that the intervention programme would further improve the performances of the School Managers and their Teachers; thus, bringing about outstanding changes in school management in the State.
To check malpractices, she revealed that five websites, where students download examination questions before exams, have been discovered and shut down while the culprits have been arrested through the collaborative efforts of the Ministry of Education and offices of the Lagos Rapid Response Squad (RRS).
Also, the Tutor-General/Permanent Secretary, Mr. Olusanya Ebenezer Abayomi, in an interview with Oriwu Sun, said the intervention training was organized to train Principals and Vice-Principals in the State’s public schools under District II on the type of leadership and managerial skills required when the school resumes for the new session.
He said that with the quality of training received at the programme, he expects the participants to work as a team for the effective management of their respective schools.
