The Chairman, Board of Governors, Olashore International School, Prince Abimbola Olashore says the recent withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) is a huge opportunity for Nigeria to raise her education standard, and meet a growing education need-both in quality and quantity.
He enjoined the Nigerian Government and the entire educational sector to up its games in the area of education.
Speaking based on statistics from the UK Council for International Students Affairs, he noted that Nigeria is the third top non-European country with the highest population of foreign students in the UK, with a very high enrolment between 2014 and 2015.
According to him, the new immigration visa rules stipulates that immigrants on skilled worker visas (Tier 2 visas) from non- European countries, including Nigerians, earn at least £35,000 (N9.5m) per annum or face deportation. This presents a tough scenario for many. And with the current exchange rate wide swing, it is really time to look inwards.”
“In the light of this, I want to implore the Nigeria Government to up her game in the area of education and invest in cresting long lasting infrastructure. We at Olashore International School have also engaged in series of activities to increase the standard of education given to the students. We ensure academic excellence, nurture children to their full potentials, and developing these children for the 21st century leadership. At Olashore International School, our aim is to provide education comparable to the best in the world, blending academics with discipline, strong value system and real life skills.”
Explaining more on this, he pointed out that most of our youths are beginning to take up entrepreneurial skills.
“The way the country is going now, most people are going to work for themselves. Jobs might be on the increase, but more and more of the population will work for themselves so what is much more important are things that has to do with entrepreneurial skills in addition to the technical ones. More than ever before, the degree that is most relevant now is the degree of creativity. So the education of tomorrow is about teaching life success skills and better preparing students for the challenges that lie ahead.”
Similarly in his remarks at the interactive session, the Principal, Olashore International School, Mr. Derek Smith, confessed that the current Nigeria educational system fashioned after the British prototype needs to be further fine tuned to meet the practical challenges of modern day labour market.
“The over 150 year old British Educational System was designed at inception to prepare graduates for civil service job training, but that such civil-service focused academic curriculum needs to be further advanced. To this end, Olashore International School was founded with a unique vision of drilling its students who are usually between 10 and 16 for self-reliance and dynamic leadership. Developing all rounded global leaders for the 21st century is at the core of what we do at Olashore International School. Leadership has always been at the heart of the school and as Nigeria continues to grow and change, it is vital that young leaders are developed with sound moral values, a strong academic background and the full set of competence to be successful in the 21st century.”
According to him, the school has been recognised for its outstanding educational programmes which are backed by strong policies to ensure that children are kept safe and secure all the time.
This recognition fetched the school series of awards like the British Council International Schools Award, Osun State Award, and many others.
More recently, the Council of British International School (COBIS) inducted the school for its outstanding performances, its integration of international work into its curriculum and its successful work with GL Education.
