The need to prepare children and young adults in Nigeria for societal relevance now and in the future in the emerging world of work and knowledge economy has made it imperative for the country to include leadership skills development in the school curriculum, especially at primary and secondary education levels.
Doing this will enable schools, public and private, alike, to produce fit-for-purpose and future-ready learners that will create wealth and be solution providers even while still in school rather than job seekers after graduation.
This was the summation of the thoughts and perspectives of participants at a one-day workshop organised by a private learning education centre, Teesas Education, in Lagos on Wednesday.
The hybrid event, which was organised in conjunction with FranklinCovey, a global education resource training centre, has many high-profile school owners and administrators, managers, and other stakeholders in Nigeria’s education sector in attendance.
They discussed leadership development in children, with a focus on the transformative “Leader in Me” programme.
The Leader in Me programme addresses school development in three core areas: culture, leadership, and academics, and enhances student development by coaching them to look towards becoming effective leaders to themselves and to others now and in the future.
Welcoming participants, ChairmanCEO of Teesas Education, Mr. Osayi Izedonmwen, said the “Leader in Me programme” was designed as a paradigm shift from the old ways and manner in which school activities and purposes were given to a new and more evolving fashion that will shape learners orientations, thinking, and focus to be life-ready leaders right from when they are in school.
He pointed out that the era where students are taught and prepared primarily to pass exams for the purpose of getting paid employment rather than becoming wealth creators and leaders in their chosen fields is no longer relevant in today’s world, where new knowledge of doing things is evolving daily.
He said this identified gap is what the Leader in Me programme is aimed at closing by inculcating seven habits of highly effective people in children as they pursue their academic journeys and with parent engagement.
He said that was what made the difference between the technologically advanced countries and Africa, with the former leading the latter with a wide gap.
Giving insight into the programme, the Regional Director of partnering FranklinCovey Education, Mr Justin Permenter, who spoke visually, stressed that globally, there is a shift from the industrial to the knowledge-age economy, and every country must move along and not be left behind.
He shared insights from the World Economic Forum Future of Jobs 2023 Report that suggest that analytical and creative thinking, technological literacy, empathy and active listening, teamwork, leadership, and social influence are some of the skills deemed to be of greatest importance for future workers.
He also made reference to McKinsey’s Future of Work Skills Report, released last year, in which cognitive, interpersonal, self-leadership, and digital skills were identified as four categories of high-demand skills in the world of work across sectors of the economy.
He emphasised that it is important that children, especially in Africa, are also trained in those skills like their peers in the more advanced countries to enable them to fit well in the 21st-century economy.
Speaking separately on the sub-theme of the workshop, “Implementing Socio-Emotional Leadership Development in Schools Using Leaders in Me,” the discussants acknowledged that there is a need to re-evaluate Nigeria’s school curriculum to incorporate contents that will make learning more practical than theoretical.
The discussants, who include the founder of Oxbridge Tutorial College, Dr Femi Ogunsanya; the executive director of Standard Bearers School, Mrs Modupe Adeyinka-Oni; and the head of Pegasus Schools, Mrs Monica Lewis, said the deployment of the Leader in Me Programme in the school curriculum would certainly make a difference.
Also, one of the participants and founder of Maftouch School in Ogun State, Mr. Felix Nwose, expressed readiness to make good use of the knowledge gained back home.
He, just like other participants, believes that Nigerian schools must expose children to skills that will make them future-ready.
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