Lagos State Government has expressed its readiness to improve its educational sector through innovative ideas that will strengthen Public and Private Partnerships, PPP.
Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Folashade Adefisayo made this known at the 2023 Lagos Education Conference with the theme, “Exploring the Opportunities in Public Private Partnerships for Educational Development in Nigeria”, held recently at NECA House. Ikeja.
She said, in actualising the 21st-century educational skills and transformation in the State, there is a need to explore and consult Public Private Partnerships in education to standardise the quality of education and improve the academic performance of teachers and students in the State.
The Commissioner stated that the power of collaboration in the education sector is a collective responsibility which has been a wonderful experience and has gone a long way in promoting the State’s education sector.
Referring to the existing relationship between the State Government, Casio – the maker of Casio Calculator, and SKLD Integrated Services – their sole distributor in Nigeria, Adefisayo said the Ministry has been in partnership with the company in the development of the educational system for several years, stressing that the contributions of the company have been remarkable.
She said training teachers, building and funding of Casio Mathematics Training Lab among others are the major contributions of Casio towards the educational development of the State, adding there is an ongoing plan by Casio to ensure every student is given a scientific calculator free of charge.
The Commissioner affirmed that the partnership has been fruitful as the impact has made the State record an outstanding performance in the last three Western African Examinations Council results, where students excellently passed Mathematics.
She added that the students’ outstanding performance is attributed to the quality of training, competent teachers, conducive and learning environment, among others.
While noting that the Ministry is open to partnerships for educational programmes that will improve and better the lots of students, Adefisayo, however, noted that the State Government is open to more partnership initiatives that will improve the State’s education sector.
Also speaking at the conference, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Mr. Andrew David Adejo said the Federal government has been pursuing and sponsoring Public Private Partnerships interface to ensure the smooth running of government establishment.
He said education is an indispensable tool for the socio-economic and technological transformation of any society, adding that the provision of quality education does not come cheap, hence the need for Public Public Private Partnerships.
The Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Education, Mr. Abayomi Abolaji said adopting Public Private Partnerships is the way to go in achieving quality education for students in the State.
The Permanent Secretary, who was represented by the Director/Head of Education Resource Centre, Mrs. Akinlade Omolayo, said quality education plays a major role in the academic development of the Nigerian students.
He said the outstanding academic achievements the State has recorded ever since it has been partnering with some key stakeholders in the education sector cannot be overemphasised.
Abolaji, however, urged the concerned stakeholders and residents to give full support to the State Government towards achieving sound and qualitative education in Lagos.
Speaking on the move to assist the education sector of the State further, the General Manager of Casio Middle East and Africa, Mr. Koji Shimada revealed plans to come up with more educative programmes that would make learning interesting and easier for both students and teachers in the State.