administration – EduTechHub

Wrong Business Practices of School Owners

A new school year begins soonest and it’s important to highlight a few things school owners and heads of school do that destroy their businesses.

1. Not appointing Heads amongst your current Team
Most schools will never appoint one of their present team to the office of principal or head Teacher. I don’t know where this culture came from or how it began, but it is all wrong. It destroys the motivation of your team to give out their best. By appointing someone from outside to lead your team, you are invariably saying your team members are not qualify to lead. It also means you are not grooming anybody to grow or build capacity. This is why they don’t trust or value you too. They pull out of the system at the slightest opportunity.

2. Offering nothing different from your competitors
It is commonstance to find 10 schools in a community or approximate location just doing same thing. The normal gathering of learners, hiring of educators to consumate the Educator-Teacher contact. None is offering a unique service, new learning experience, after school services or refined curriculum. Just the normal.
Offering a unique service, a refined financial solution is why banks don’t worry about competition. You find 6banks in same location and yet, they don’t squabble over customers. They are just doing their thing and winning the market.

3. High tuition fee in the wrong Environment
The location of your school is a variable that should decide where you place your tuition charges. Especially for non-boarding schools. Locating a school in a remote community or peasant settlement and placing your fees at a far reaching peg is unwise. See, you may find a number of parents who can afford your charges but you may never get enough to break even in good time.

4. Failure to Hire professionals to manage your school
Most school owners were one time teachers and thus have the wrong idea they can start theirs and manage all by themselves. That you have a B.Ed degree or was a former teacher in a Public school doesn’t automatically confer on you the ability to oversee a school efficiently. A school has an education and business component. Integrating man, money, machine (resources) and methods to function effectively requires an expertise you won’t pick up from being just a teacher. There’s need for training and further capacity building. While you are yet building capacity, hire professionals to run the system.

There is more, but chew on this for now.
©Moses Udoisoh

Thanks.✍️

How Can School Principals Create a Vision and Plan to Ensure Success?

School principals need to create a vision and develop a plan for a school system to thrive. During a job interview for a school principal position, you need to express how you will be able to create a solid strategy that details how the vision will be reached.

This plan will be the school’s brainchild but more importantly, must be driven by an excellent leader. In a school, the principal bears ultimate responsibility for ensuring that the goals of the institution are realized. In other words, the school principal is not just an administrative position but a leadership role.

There are essential characteristics an educational leader needs to possess.👇👇👇👇

👉1.Any applicant for a school principal’s role must ensure that they communicate through their resume and responses to interview questions their ability to make sure that the school’s vision is actualized.

👉2.The principal must emphasize that they cannot develop a vision and plan on their own. As a leader, the school principal should develop a standard view in consultation with all relevant stakeholders and especially other members of staff and parents.

👉3.It is important for the school principal to acknowledge that no one person has a monopoly on the ideas of how to run the school well. As a visionary, the educational leader must show preparedness to challenge the status quo while not discarding the right aspects of the school’s current plan and vision.

An understanding of what makes an excellent school is vital to leadership success.

👉4.As an educational leader, the principal must forge channels of effective communication. Plans can always be improved, and there should be ways through which stakeholders can communicate their concerns on current projects as well as their thoughts on how to change the plans for the better.

Communication channels should cater to all members of staff – from new to senior educators and department heads to the general staff. Every staff member will be somewhat affected by any plan the school settles on so no one should be shut out from giving their opinion. At the end of the day, every team member must be brought on board and buy into the vision and plans for them to succeed.

👉5.Involving fellow staff in the planning cannot be overemphasized. Remember for instance that the educators sit where the majority of the action takes place ;the classroom.

As the team members have to go through the system daily, they are usually able to identify what is wrong with the current school process and what would be the most practical solution.

Even though most school principals start their career as a teacher, they may not be privy to the current practical challenges that teachers face. Also, the principal of the school may not have the time to monitor what each staff member is going through actively. Creating a forum where staff can voice their thoughts, opinions, and fears is a fundamental aspect of the principal’s role.

Keep in mind, sometimes what a school principal may consider being a new and revolutionary vision for the school may have been tried before and failed for some reason. Speaking to staff that has been at the institution for longer or have had similar experiences in another system could help with avoiding a plan that could fail.

Thanks.✍️

Factors That Attract Parents to Schools

INTRODUCTION
Any parent who wishes to enroll his/her wards in any private school looks out for certain things which they expect in schools before deciding to take their children to any school. It is important for school owners to focus on some of these factors so as to leverage on their performances and have a better patronage from many parents. Some of the needs of parents are listed and explained below:

1. SCHOOL SECURITY:
Parents consider adequate security within the premises. Such security also entails security of children after closing time and transportation security where children are being taken home in school buses. If a school has a good security system and prospective parents are sure of the security of their wards, they will patronize your school.

2. SCHOOL BUS:
Schools having buses have advantages over those that do not have buses. It is not enough to have school buses but parents also look out for the condition of a school bus. If a school bus is rickety and breaks down on the roads, parents will not take their wards to such schools. The population of pupils in a school bus also counts a lot. If a school has a penchant for overloading its school buses with pupils, parents will be discouraged from enrolling their wards in such a school.

3. PERFORMANCES:
The academic performance of a school is another key factor any parent will look out for before enrolling their wards. If a school has a track record of outstanding performances in unified examinations such as UTME, NECO, WAEC, etc, parents will be attracted to such a school. No responsible parent will take his wards to schools with poor academic performances.

4. TECHNOLOGY:
A school that uses modern techniques of teaching pupils will have a better chance of being patronized. A good school must make use of modern techniques of teaching. The use of multi-media projector, white boards and other technological innovations are necessary to attract prospective parents.

5. FREIENDLY ATTITUDE OF TEACHERS:
A school having friendly teachers and other workers will always attract more customers to their school. Teachers must have a friendly attitude toward the pupils. Teachers must be patients with the pupils. School owners must motivate teachers and show a good example to teachers.

6. MORAL STANDARD & SEXUAL ASSUALTS:
Some parents consider moral standard of the school. Also, cases of sexual assaults by male teachers will cause a serious problem for any school and dent its corporate image. Parents are wary of schools where female pupils are assaulted. To this end, school owners must recruit responsible men in their schools.

7. CLOSED CIRCUIT CAMERAS:
Apart from serving as a security measure in a school, a school should install closed circuit cameras within and around the school and in all the class rooms. If all male teachers are aware that these cameras are installed in all the classes and around the school, none of them will attempt to rape or assault any female pupil. However, a new school might not have such financial capacity at the beginning but they should have it in their short term plans. Closed circuit cameras should also be installed at the frontage of a school, back of the school and at the reception.

8. SCHOOL FEES:
School fees should be reasonable and affordable by average parents. If a school charges exorbitant fees, they may not get many people who will patronize them except those schools that have created a niche for themselves. New school owners and those intending to start a school business should carry out a survey of school fees being charged around the area. Fees chargeable by schools differ based on locations. For instance, in Lagos State, school fees are high in places like Lekki, Ikoyi, Victoria Island, Ikeja G.R.A, VGC, Parkview estate, etc. Let your school fees be competitive in order to attract people to your school.

9. SCHOOL UNIFORM:
This might sound funny but some parents are attracted by the quality and beauty of school uniforms. A school having a fantastic school uniform will attract more customers. Please, pay attention to your school uniforms.

10. PUBLIC COMPETITIONS:
A school that allows its pupils to participate in academic competitions which are done with other schools in attendance will attract more parents to enroll their wards in the school. When parents watch these programmes on the television and see the performance of pupils from a particular school, they will be interested to take their wards to such a school. As a school owner, look for opportunities for such a competition. A good example is COWBELL MATHEMATICS programme. Participation in academic competition is another means of advertising a school.

11. RESPECT FOR PARENTS & VISITORS:
As a school owner, you must have respect for your customers. Your customers are the pupils in the school and their parents. You must not be rude to the parents that patronize your school. If parents are insulted by school owners or teachers, such a school will experience a decline in fresh enrolment of new intakes and withdrawal of existing pupils. Respect your customers. No matter how terrible the characters of your customers, remember; THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT. Treat your customers with respect. NOTE: Respect is a marketing strategy while disrespect is a de-marketing attitude in any organization.

Dear school owners, pay attention to the above factors and many more in order to enjoy more patronage from parents.

Tips for the New Academic Year

Hurray!! We’re at that time ⌚ of the year when we need to put everything in place for the take-off of a new academic session. As administrators, we have a vital role to play in this. Even though some planning for the new school year was done before you closed for the outgone school year, this period affords the opportunity to tidy things up for resumption.

Here are a few tips to help you as an administrator.

Communicate the Resumption Date to Parents and Staff

Even though the resumption date for the new school year had been communicated in the last newsletter for the last school year, there is a need to do a reminder on this using bulk sms and emails. You can also do so through the school’s social media platforms.

The date the teachers are expected to resume school would be different from that of the students. This is to enable adequate time for professional development and to decorate the classrooms and get things set ready for the arrival of the students.

I’m sure you do not want excuses from teachers about the resumption date. It’ll be too early in the school year for this.

Organise Training Sessions for the Teachers

There is a need to invest in the personal and professional development of your staff before the school year commences. I assume that in the performance evaluation of the staff, you must have taken note of the areas that need improvement in your school as a corporate body, and also in individual staff members, and prepared the training to address them.

Topics to include in your training would be Professional Ethics for Educators, Classroom and Behaviour Management, Customer Service, Emotional Intelligence, Team Building, and a host of others. Do not schedule more than two training sessions in a day to make for effectiveness. There is no need to drain the staff at the beginning of the academic year with knowledge or information that may be rather overwhelming each day, and difficult to apply.

You can never go wrong with investing in the personal and professional development of your employees.

Ensure All Teachers Know their Class Placements

You might have sent out a class placement already before going on the summer break. But this is the time to confirm what class each teacher would be taking in the new academic session, to enable them to prepare and decorate their classes. I’m sure you know how eager teachers geet about what classes they’d be teaching in a new school year.

Start Class and School Area Decorations

After the teachers have been assigned to their classes, they need to start decorating their classes to prepare for the children’s arrival. Decoring the classes and school areas also creates a welcoming environment for prospective parents who would be stopping by to make enquiries for enrollment of their children in your school. Plus it has a way of pepping up the moods of the staff while they work and train.

How prepared is your child for primary school?

10 things your 5 year olds should know before heading off to primary school.

They should be able to;

Say and read their full name.
Write their full names on their worksheets and, sign in for school activities unaided.
Orally state their home address, read and possibly write it.
Recite, write or dail both parents mobile numbers or an emergency number if need be. Parents ought to seriously take teaching this to their children. Better safe than sorry!
Capable of feeding themselves, refill their cup/ bottle and clean up after meal.
Undress before and after using the restroom and clean up throughly afterwards.
Share their opinion in a group, talk in front of their class and confidently express self.
Tie their shoe lace, buckle their footwear, wear their footwear in correct order : This life skill should be embodied early as it is useful throughout life.
Read and follow instructions of task and copy notes from the board.
Unpack bag/ lunch box, sort/ classify items accordingly, arrange/ organise desk/ locker and pack up books/ personal belonging before leaving for home daily.

Dear Parents if you can tick off all ten items, then your 5 year old is ready to embark on the next phase of their educational voyage. Less than 5 ticks means you have some grounds to cover ahead of next academic session.

Today is a good time to commence teaching them those things that they are yet to master.

I hope you found this list useful.

Before you Increase School Fees, Consider These

Questions:- “The schools around my environment are increasing their FEE. I am the only SCHOOL with less school FEES, should I increase mine too? I’m confused.

My response:-

When you grow to a stage where your shoes no longer size you, you will know.

Don’t join in the bandwagon effect of increasing your school FEES when it’s not yet time.

First, grow your landscape of the 3S.

✓ Service
✓ Solution
✓ Sales.

(In my previous post, I explain how these 3S’s can produce result in school enrollment. If you haven’t read it, kindly search for it here).

Don’t increase your school FEE when there is nothing increasing as VALUE in your school settings.

Increment responds to additional value added to the school that needs more money to run.

If your school just acquire new set of computers, new school bus, new furnitures, standard library etc; all of these are VALUE added to the school which will affect school FEE increment.

Now, back to you:-

What has just been added to your school as VALUE that can bring about INCREMENT in school FEES?

Instead of looking for ways to increase your school FEES, find ways to increase your school VALUE and it will automatically drive increment.

Your production of value will automatically bring INCREMENT in sales.

Your competitors are not the reasons you are in business but your clients, focus on them.

Once your clients are SATISFIED with your SERVICES, no matter the increment, THEY WILL COME BACK.

Create EXPERIENCE in the heart of your PARENTS.

An HAPPY CLIENT IS A PAYING CLIENT.❗

Hope this meets you WELL? 🤝

Yours truly
JUBRIL OLUWATOBI

The SWOT Analysis

Do a (SWOT) analysis on Your Kids Before You Crucified Them

S = STRENGTH
W = WEAKNESS
O = OPPORTUNITIES
T = THREATS

I have tried several times since yesterday not to talk about this, but there’s a crawcraw in my hand that keeps pushing me.

I was on my way home yesterday when I stopped by a woman’s shop to buy groundnut. I had bought this fresh banana and the only thing that kept ringing in my head after I bought it was groundnut, groundnut, almost like a nursery rhyme. Yeah, dinner was going to be a bomb! Who says good life must necessarily come expensive? Tueh!

I got to her shop, horned severally but there was no response. I was hearing muffled sounds from inside her retail store and knew she was in there. I waited a bit inside the car, too tired to get out and then shouted her name. ‘Mummy Sewa, se e wa ninu shop?’. Chai! Still no response o. I was already close to the house and had passed several supermarts. I hated buying groundnuts from those big stores bcos most of the time, it’s stale and no longer sweet as it should be. But Mummy Sewa’s own is always fresh and yummy.

Anyways, I finally got down, went into her shop, saw no one, then went in to the backyard. Some few steps from there, I started hearing Tazai, kpokam, whai, voom and a loud wailing from a small lad. Mummy please, please, I will take 1st next term. Plsss, I will not be watching TV again… Haha. Which kain wahala be this? I ran closer to the woman, blocked the boy and a whip almost landed on my back. I was madly enraged and almost landed her a slap. How dare you suffer a young child like this? Is this not the way parents unconsciously groom potential abusers? Is this what will make him be at the top position next term?

Mummy Sharon, please leave o. I must kill him today. He came 13th in his class after all my wahala on him. Shebi you know his dad has left all of us since and I’ve been the one suffering day and night. Haaa yeeeee. I must finish him o. All he does is watch TV and play ball. Nothing else.

Take it easy Ma. I told her, but she wouldn’t hear none of it. She was still shaking and vibrating like a rickety agbegilodo.

Oya, kill him na. You go soon kamdan now. What was your own grade when you were his age? By the time he lands in the hospital, I’m sure your Apollo eyes will clear. I was starting to boil up myself.

Afterwards, I told the boy to follow me in my car, left both the groundnut and the seller and zoomed off. Mission groundnut aborted!

I don’t know why Parents do this shit.

The first time I caught my son teaching his elder sister her maths assignment, I was shell-shocked. As in Se owo oti jona bayi? Sharon hated mathematics with every fibre in her and never seem to get it right. I was tempted to shout on her then but I always manage to keep my calm. Unlike Simon, she has never been first before in her class but I always encouraged her. Later I began to realise her strength and area of core competency- English. She can spell any word. She can read anything, She can narrate a whole book from beginning to ending without mincing words. She loves to dance Salsa. She likes to sing. She still hates Maths but she’s getting better. And last Session, she got the overall best in English in her grade.

We can’t all be good at everything.

Our kids can’t be the best at everything.

We need to be close to them to learn where their strengths lie.

The case of the 12 year old boy who tried to poison his fellow classmate at Lekki British international school just because he was coveting the first position always play in my mind. Who knows what the root cause is? Who knows if he was under pressure from home to get the slot otherwise they won’t take him for a vacation in Bahamas or buy him his dream bicycle or whatever…..

The pressure Parents put their kids through ehn….. You must be a doctor, you must be a lawyer, I want you to become a Pilot, an Engineer. Bla Bla Bla

Will you keep kwayet there!

We need to realise being at the first, second or third position does not guarantee success in life. Intelligence, hardwork, creative instincts all covered with Grace does.

I graduated with a Second Class upper in Computer Engineering (even though Dad did everything to make sure I studied Medicine). I have MSCE, CCNP and CompTIA certifications. By God’s grace, I have an online MSC degree. I have an OAU MBA degree. But I’m using none at my present place of work. Even with all these, I have friends who graduated with a third Class or Pass doing way way better than me. I see them and I’m grateful to God for His grace upon their lives. I feel they’ve achieved much more.

But then, what is the measure of achievement? Is it quantified in monetary terms alone? Is it by the physical assets one has acquired? No! I don’t think so.

What pushes us in life differs.

Some just want to make money.

Some just want to create history.

Some just wanted to break a jinx in their household.

Some just want to be famous

Some just want to put smiles on other people’s faces.

Some just want to be happy.

Some just want to change the status quo in the world we are.

Some just want to get married.

Some just…..

And when they get this, they have achieved all what they wanna fulfil in life. And there’s nothing you can do or say to convince them otherwise.

Let’s stop putting so much pressure on our children. Let’s encourage them to be who they wanna be. Success isn’t measured via academic pursuits alone.

Do a SWOT analysis of your kids. Strength, weakness, opportunities and threats.

Live your dream and let them live theirs. Don’t force the fulfilment of your failed dreams through these innocent souls.

With encouragement, support, prayers, they will be the best in whatever they set out to do.

Back to Mama Sewa’s case, I took the boy back to his house after about an hour and spoke some sense to the mum.

I believe she would have had a change of heart.

No Child is an Olodo! Their position last term doesn’t matter. That is not the only determinant for future success.

May our children be better and greater than us.

Amen!

Copied with slight edition

Private School Survival and the Urgent Need for Unique Selling Points

There’s no food for ” sidon they look administrators ” whose major and only business is looking for who to blame for their downfall.

If your School must survive next session, you must work for it.

The major factors that every potential successful School owner must develop in order to overcome eminent shake up in education sector is Unique Selling Points.

This is not the best time for “copy and Paste School administration but the right time to proof your hard earned administrative skills, innovation and versatility”

School survival and growth is more about what you offer not what you receive. Even if you receive #500 as School fees, it will not still grow if you have nothing tangible to offer.

use the few days left before closing to define your essence of opening a School, list what you stand for and state how you will achieve it.

This time call for sober reflection, the only School that will sail through this unimaginable shake up are those School that know their Unique Selling points and consciously maintain it.

You can never be everything successfully, you must stand for something. Your business must be known for one outstanding quality.

Have you wondered why and how some Schools successfully overcome storms, how they soared even after increasing their School fees? The answer is Unique Selling points. People love them for a particular or many unique selling points.

Dear Colleagues, going forward and upwards, your School must be known for one outstanding unique quality that has the capacity to attract students from all walks of life.

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS:
What are your school unique selling points?

Mention one thing your School is known for in your vicinity?

In one or two sentences, can you convince yourself on why an educated and respected person in your area should choose your School over others as we prepare for next session?

How often do you communicate your unique selling points to your staff?

Apart from academics, what else do your School stand for?

Every outstanding School I know are known for one or more unique Selling Points.

This is almost new session, transfer window is open, every reasonable private school owners are seriously planning on how to retain their students and at the same time attract new ones. It’s your unique selling point that determines your strategy and approach.

You really need to consciously plan and diligently implement.

This holiday, what are those things you intend to do differently in order to move your School forward. Do you think it’s still business as usual?

By now, you are expected to know what you stand for or intend to stand for.

To be successful in this School business, you must learn to outsmart your major competitors.
You must constantly devise various ways to beat the imagination of your competitors.

I don’t need to remind you that School business is purely a game of survival of the fittest.

The fittest in School business most times is not the richest but those who understand the business in School business.

My major concern is that many School owners have refused to see themselves as the major agent of their school growth.

Every product must be known for something, we have thousand and one brands of soft drinks and beer, however, all of them have their unique tastes

Don’t be deceived, your School just like Nigeria brewing products must have a unique tastes. You can easily distinguish between coca cola coke and biggie cola. Trophy, 33 and life beer appear to be the same, however, they have their peculiarities.

HOW TO DISCOVER YOUR UNIQUE SELLING POINTS (USP)
The best way to discover your USP is through feedback. Carefully study what people are saying about your School, note those things they unanimously like about your School. develop the most prominent and impactful ones into your USP.

PROMOT YOUR UNIQUE SELLING POINTS.
Don’t stop at knowing your unique selling points, consciously, tactically and consistently promote it. Carefully and silently
draw people’s attention to your USP. Use every opportunity to promote it: PTA meeting, validitory service, meetings with teachers, students etc.

REVIEW YOUR USP.
From time to time review your unique selling points to ascertain its level of usefulness and acceptability. Once your competitors find out your USP, they will fortify their Schools in that regard.
It’s always advisable to develop multiple USPs to make it difficult for your competitors to find out.
Build your unique selling points in key sectors of your School.
Academics, finance, extracurricular activities, administration, customer care service etc.

Classic School Directors, I charge you this moment to develop your post COVID-19 pandemic USP strategies and various means you will use to promote it.

Nothing in life is by accident, not even success.

There’s no food for ” sidon they look administrators ” whose major and only business is looking for who to blame for their downfall.

If you must succeed, you must work for it.

Curriculum and Your School

I have decided to make this write up, to educate us on some important facts regarding the type of curriculum that we use in our schools.

Curriculum is the *centre guide* for all educators as to what is essential for teaching and learning, so that every student has access to meaningful academic experiences in accordance with the school’s *Vision and Mission.*

There are three keyword in bold format here. They are:
I. Centre guide
II. Mission
III. Vision.

*CENTRE GUIDE*
The centre guide of every curriculum should be hooked to vision and mission of the school. 21st Century schools are expected to run *Integrated Curriculum*, using the school’s mission, vision and aim of existence as the *Integrating core*. Integrating curriculum is that curriculum that contains contents carefully linked to integrating core elements in a non confusing manner.
*NB: Your school may need training for this.*

To integrate a curriculum, you need to get your integrating elements ready, brainstorm and think of how you can link each of the topics to the elements you have in place. These elements must as a matter of fact, agree with the vision and mission of your school.

*VISION*
Vision is usually written in statement. Vision statement describes the picture of the future position of the school and her learners.

*MISSION*
Mission describes the systematic approach, the school has adopted to achieve her vision. It is also written in statement called Mission statement.

As a school owner, you are required to work on the National curriculum, to suit the purpose of establishing your own school. Any one who uses the National curriculum directly without adding any value to it, is operating at the lowest and not giving his/her learners the best. On a scale of 1- 10, such school is at 0-4.

Surprise???

Look at this excerpt from the National Curriculum popularly called Green White Green:

“`The prescriptions represent the minimum content to be taught in schools in order to achieve the objectives of the new Secondary School Programme. However, teachers are encouraged to enrich the content with relevant materials and information from their immediate environment, but adapting the curriculum to their needs and aspirations.“`

With these exposure, teachers and school owners should review their curriculum, revamp and integrate it to meet the aspiration of the school.

Ismaila James
FCT CHAMPION 2020
(MALTINA TEACHER)

Lagos State at 50: The Fate of Early Childhood Education in Her Public Primary Schools

*Preamble*
13.1 Lagos State Creation and Its Administrators
Lagos State among other few states, was created in some fifty years ago on the 27th of May 1967, from Colony Province and Lagos Federal Territory. Ever since her creation, she has been governed by both Military and Civilian Administrators.
The first Governor was Brigadier Mobalaji Johnson, a Military Administrator, who serves from 28 May 1967 to July 1975. Late Comdr. Adekunle Lawal, a Ministry Administrator, served from July 1975 to 1977.
Thereafter, Comdr. Ebitu Ukiwe, a Military Administrator, ruled between July 1978 to October 1979. While, Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande became the first Civilian Governor from October 1979 to December 1983.
Late Air Comdr. Gbolahan Mudasiru, became the Military Administrator from January 1984 to 1986.
Capt. Okhai Mike Akhigbe, a Military Administrator, ruled from 1986 to July 1988 while Brigadier Gen. Raji Alagbe Rasaki, a Military Administrator, ruled from July 1988 to January 1992.
Sir, Michael Otedola, another Civilian Governor, ruled from January 1992 to March 1993 and Col. Olagunsoye Oyinlola, a Military Governor too, ruled from December 1993 to 22nd August 1996.
Col. Mohammed Buba Marwa, a Military Governor, ruled from 22nd August to 29th May 1999. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Executive Governor, reigned from May 29th to 29th May 2007 (having served for two terms)
Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, an Executive Governor, governed Lagos State from May 29th 2007 to May 29th 2015. Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, another Executive Governor Lagos State, came to power in May 29th, 2015 and still running the affairs of the State to date.
The journey to the State of Excellence, is not a “child’s play”. For many reasons, the state has witnessed a lot of ups and downs in terms of political crisis, economy, education etc that affect the development of this level of education . The thrust of this unit is to examine the contributions of the past governors and the current one, regarding the status of Early Childhood Education programme in Lagos state.

13.2 *Historical Development of Early Childhood/Nursery Education in Lagos State*
A commendable starting point of having a formalised Nursery Education in Lagos State public schools officially started in 1999 when the Federal government of Nigeria, under the leadership of the former president, Obasanjo Olusegun, launched the Universal Basic Education scheme on October 30th 1999 in Sokoto, known as to as (Sokoto declaration).
This UBE programme was expanded in scope, to take care of Junior Secondary Education, Adult and Non-formal Education,though the act that established the scheme, was passed into Law in 2004 and became operational in all the states.
Lagos State, the State of Excellence, blazed the trail in Early Childhood Education in 2004, when the Governor during that time, “Senator” Ahmed Tinubu (fondly called then), realised that the public primary schools in the state, were allegedly deserted and there was no parents willing to send their wards to public primary schools because of many reasons and especially, lack of Nursery classes. This reality, prompted the introduction of “Linkage Classes”, (a nomenclature for nursery education) in Lagos state that time, in to all the primary schools in the State as a way of extending Early Childhood Education to the younger ones who are yet to attain primary School age. Two (2) of such “Linkage classes”, were set up in each of the Twenty (20) Local Government in the State. It was noted that, after two (2) years of experimentation of this project, “the linkage Classes” in enrollment in Lagos-State, increased sporadically and this subsequently compelled government to raise the standard and number from the initial 778 to 996. (Adebiyi, 2010).
This “linkage classes”, facilitated an unprecedented qualitative primary school system and patronage of parents in public primary schools. (Avosetiyen, 2003)

*13.3 LAGOS-SUBEB*
The UBE Act of 2004 facilitated the establishment of Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (LSUBEB) on the 30th December 2005 and was launched on 30th January 2006 with the following vision statement *every child’s potential is realized by Accessing Basic Education*. While the mission statement is: *Lagos SUBEB in collaboration with stakeholders will create a conducive environment for quality teaching and learning through the provision of infrastructure, capacity building and support for LGEAS*
As at 2016/2017 Academic Session, Lagos-State has about 1011 public primary schools with each having a pre-primary section and that of course, can be traced to the initial progressive decision taken by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu who blazed the trail in this regard, even when all other Governors in Nigeria , as at that time, could not take the risk of investing on Early Childhood Education. Thereafter, many states followed suit and in 2013, Federal Government made appearance in National Policy on Education to establish the 1-year Kindergarten Education in public schools.
*Lagos State Governors’ Score Cards on ECCE*
Mr. Babatunde Fashola complemented the effort of his precessor, Asiwaju Hammed Tinubu, by increasing the number of Public Primary Schools from 996 to 1007 with all, having pre-school sections. The Governor after Raji Fashola, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, in less than a year in office, added additional four (4) to the number making a total of 1011 public primary schools in the State with each, having a Pre-primary Section. Kudos to all the governors for their interest in Early Childhood Education.

*13.4 CAPACITY BUILDING FOR TEACHERS:*
Not until year 2010, when a massive one-week capacity building training was organized for teachers at Federal Government College, Ijanikin by the State Universal Basic Education, anchored by Association for Childhood Education Practitioners (ACEP) in conjunction with Applied Scholastics, Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (who were not ECCE professionals). the capacity building for this category of teachers was not in place.It was in fact the first of its kind ..There was no attempt to train teachers in ECE best practices untill 2010. Ever since 2010 however, records available showed that, pre school teachers have since being trained in ECE best practices.
In year 2016, under the Governorship of Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, Lagos State recruited over One Thousand and Three Hundred (1300) teachers for the State public Nursery, primary schools but with (very very few Professionals in Early Childhood Education recruited to handle the pre-schools.

*13.5 LAGOS DIGITAL LIBRARY INITIATIVE*
Governor Ambode Akinwunmi led government, recently blazed a trail in the area of digital library when he unveiled a first of its kind digital library via the online portal. He envisioned Lagos as a dream of becoming Africa’s Model Megacity, and a global economic and financial hub. The digital library launched, will provide a repository of contents which include 2,000 study aids on core subjects from primary to senior secondary school curriculum, instructional videos and selected e-books for primary to SS3 approved texts, brief history of Lagos State Online forum podcasts and exam-mate (A Test Resource) was even captured.
The contents also include quality research papers from Lagos State Tertiary Institutions covering a wide range of topics digitized for the platform in various forms such as Vocational videos, Entrepreneurship contents and creatively presented History lesson online courses on coding.
As part of his administration to mark the 50th Anniversary of Creation of Lagos – State, the library initiative is open for private use. Two centres (Library), have been established at Herbert Macaulay, Yaba and Isolo for public use.

*13.6 My Observation*
As beautiful and laudable the library project is, there is no provision for early childhood education in terms of repository contents where caregivers and the teacher trainers in this field can access materials for their professional development. This disparity needs to be addressed in time.

*13.7 Recommendation/Last words*:
As we mark the 50th anniversary of creation of Lagos State, the state of Excellence and a template state for others, we appeal to government to consolidate the existing structure (Pre–Schools) where the foundation of formal education begins.
The recruitment of right professionals, inclusion of early childhood education on the digital library and the online portal becomes a priority. There is no scarcity of ECE professionals in Lagos-State again, because two (2) Colleges owned and funded by the State have produced professional caregivers in abundance. In fact, Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (AOCOED), started producing graduates in Early Childhood Education since year 2013 and she has since produced four (4) successive sets. Michael Otedola College of Primary Education (MOCPED) too started producing in 2013 and has equally produced four (4) sets and only few has been employed. In fact, less than five (5) of those graduates have been employed by government of Lagos State. It should be noted that, it is only the teaching skills and stimulation from these professionals (in ECE) that can guarantee effective learning at this level.
On behalf of Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education and School of Early Childhood and Primary Education (SECPED), I wish to congratulate the Governor of Lagos-State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, and the entire State Executive, the Legislators, the Judiciary and other stakeholders in Lagos-State on the Celebration of 50th Anniversary of creation of the state of excellence.

Itesiwaju Eko
Lo je wa logun
REFERENCES
Avosetinyen, M.S. (2003), Lagos State Educational System and the fourth Republic: Issues and Prospects NER 8(1) pp. 42-48.
Federal Government of Nigeria (2013). National Policy on Education. Lagos-Jibowu: NERDC.
Federal Ministry of Education (2013). Guidelines for implementing National Policy on integrated Early Childhood Development in Nigeria. Abuja: Ministry of Education.
FGN/NCCE, (2012). Nigeria Certificate in Education Minimum Standards for ECCE. Abuja: NCCE/TETFUND
FGN/NERDC (2016), Minimum Curriculum for one-year kindergarten Education. Abuja: NERDC.
Fowowe, S.S. & Melekeowei, M.O. (2017). Studies in Early Childhood Care and Education. Lagos: ANPEIN Inc.
Fowowe, S.S. & Ogunmade, S.A. (2017). Contemporary Issues in Nigerian School System. Lagos: ANPEIN Inc.
Fowowe, S.S. (2013). Introduction to Early Childhood Education in Nigeria. An unpublished mono for NCE undergraduate.
Fowowe, S.S. (2016). How children Learn: Developmentally Appropriate Approach. Lagos: ANPEIN Inc.
Fowowe, S.S. (2017). One-year kindergarten Education in Nigeria: The Role of Stakeholders. Lagos: ANPEIN Inc.
Fowowe, S.S; Adebesin, S.T. and Sobulo E.A. (2016). Classroom Observation: A practical Guide for Teachers. Lagos: Gbadura Prints.

*Fowowe S S (2021)*
*Being an extract from a text titled* *Implementation of 1 Year Kindergarten Education in Nigeria : The Role of Stakeholders*.
*Lagos : ANPEIN INC*