THE Lagos State governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has reaffirmed the state government’s determination to provide quantitative education to the people of the state.
He gave the assurance at the 10th annual conference of the Association of Private School Educators in Nigeria (APEN) held at the Lagos Business School, Lekki.
No fewer than 300 delegates, comprising school owners, teachers, other school workers, education consultants and government officials, attended the event which had as theme ‘Global Classroom 2030: Vehicle to Attitudes, Knowledge, Skills and Values’.
There was also a school exhibition, free medical check-up and students’ cultural performance at the event.
Speaking further, Governor Sanwo-Olu, represented by the director-general of the Office of Education Quality Assurance, Lagos State, Mrs Abiola Seriki-Ayeni, said it is only through quality education and provision of quality manpower that real economic growth and development could take place in Lagos State and across the federation.
He said for his administration to achieve this and move the sector forward, three major areas to invest in have been identified. These are: upgrading of the teaching profession to promote knowledge transfer, reviewing the curriculum to cater for both current and future manpower needs, and upgrading school infrastructure.
He urged private school operators to continue to contribute meaningfully to the development of education in the state, and promised that his administration would continue to provide enabling environment for both public and private schools across the state.
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Earlier in her welcome address, the President of APEN and managing director of Oxbridge Tutorial College, Lagos, Dr Olufemi Ogunsanya, said the essence of the conference was for participants to equip themselves well with right knowledge and skills that would make them to remain relevant on the global scale in (and beyond) 10 years from now.
She noted that the classroom of 2030 must go beyond the simple acquisition of knowledge but must be able to provide deeper insight into specialised ways of understanding the world generally and be able to provide effective solutions to societal problems.
On her part, the chief executive officer of Edumark, an education consulting outfit, Mrs Yinka Ogunde, said the conference was an eye opener to many stakeholders in the sector.