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By Gabriel Dike
Stakeholders at the 14th Total School Support Seminar/Exhibition (TOSSE) have called for partnerships between government and private schools to improve quality and access to education.
The Lagos State commissioner for education, Mrs. Folasade Adefisayo, and keynote speaker, Mrs. Adeola Azeez, made the call at the 14th edition of TOSSE held in Lagos recently.
The event attracted education stakeholders, including Mrs. Adefisayo, Mrs. Azeez, chairperson of Lagos TESCOM, Mrs. Elizabeth Ariyo, chairperson, Association of Private Schools, Dr. Femi Ogunsanya, proprietress of Dansol Schools, Mrs. Adun Akinyemiju, Ambassador for Education of Finland, Marjaana Sall, convener of TOSSE, Mrs. Yinka Ogunde, proprietors of schools, teachers and exhibitors across the country as well as firms from three countries.
The education commissioner, Mrs. Adefisayo, acknowledged the contribution of private schools in supporting the government to provide education to the masses.
She added: “It is clear we need to expand education. We need to provide education for everybody. The poor cannot pay for education, so we need to provide for them, this is an area we need to partner with private schools.
“In Lagos, we acknowledge the need to expand education to reach both rich and poor. We recognize the contribution of private schools in this area. In Lagos, we have more private schools than public schools. In fact, it is in ratio of 22 to one. We need to work together.”
Adefisayo tasked private schools to make access available to the poor, who can’t afford their fees, adding, “it is government responsibility to provide education but we need to partner to increase access.”
She acknowledged the contribution of TOSSE in the last 14 years in promoting innovative education and commended the convener, Mrs. Ogunde for the initiative to bring education stakeholders under one umbrella to share ideas.
The commissioner disclosed that TOSSE has grown to be a major player in the sector that brings together under one umbrella, schools, innovators, and stakeholders to brainstorm on quality and access.
The keynote speaker, Mrs. Azeez, advised school owners to promote excellence and also make it a culture in their respective schools without compromise.
She urged school owners to run for political offices in the country and make a change, including in the education sector.
“It is important to fix education because it is the tool for social economic development. It is the springboard that gives the disadvantaged equal opportunities in society,” Azeez stressed.
The convener of TOSSE and Chief Executive Officer of Edumark, Mrs. Ogunde, said the event is the first after the COVID-19 pandemic and that the 14th edition attracted exhibitors and schools from several states and three countries.
Ogunde disclosed that next year, Ghana would host TOSSE, adding, “we will attract many exhibitors and schools in 2023 with new innovation on how to do new things in schools.”
She tasked schools to embrace creativity and accept changes to new ideas in the sector to enhance better service delivery.
The 14th edition of TOSSE attracted over 20 facilitators, who took participants in different sub-areas of the theme, “Building a sustainable education ecosystem in Africa’’.
