As parts of efforts aimed at improving the standard and quality of education being offered in schools, the Rose of Sharon Foundation (RoSF), recently held an intensive training programme for teachers and school administrators of select schools in Lagos.
Focusing on Whole School Evaluation (WSE), the facilitators noted that it is a function backed by degree 16 of 1985 under the Education National Minimum Standards and Establishment of Institutions Act.
Speaking further on the WSE, Dr Oluwatomi Modupeola Alade of the department of educational foundations, University of Lagos (UNILAG), said it’s a combination of a school’s own self-evaluation and an external evaluation. She added that the self-evaluation is a continuous process, which requires schools to use the quality assurance evaluation schedules to judge the quality of what they are doing; while the external evaluation is carried out by accredited external evaluators, focusing on quality.
She added that the internal evaluation must have a school-based management committee (comprising a chairperson, PTA representative, Old Student representative, religious groups representatives, student’s representative, the principal and government representative) and a school development plan.”
Speaking on the importance of the continuous training for educators, she said, “This has been an eye-opener for them; they were interested in what WSE entails and how to be better teachers. It has to do with quality control and assurance, total quality management in education. Without quality control, everyone will do what they like and if educators are to be evaluated- even if they do not understand the process and instruments being used- there is no way the system can get meaningful feedback needed for improvement without evaluating where they stand currently.”
She added that the training will benefit everyone, the government, the country’s education system, parents and children. “It gives feedback and accountability of the investments made. For the teachers, it helps with self-improvement as their errors are pointed out. We get better schools and a better society overall,” she said.
Country Manager, RoSF, Dr Ndudi Bowei, said one of their key programmes at the foundation, is educational scholarships provided for widows who still want to go to school, their children as well as orphans. “For the children and orphans, we give scholarships from primary up to tertiary level. If they make a first class, we help them up to masters’ level. This engagement programme, for teachers and school administrators shows we are passionate about education, which goes beyond just paying school fees and giving scholarships. We want to be part of improving the quality of education our beneficiaries get and that is why we are engaging different schools to let the teachers and school owners know that there is a need for standardised evaluation with regards to the quality of learning and education in Nigeria. They need to be aware that they are giving the best education possible especially because many private schools are not even aware of this; we must all ensure there is a standard in the quality of education being given to pupils,” she said.
Another facilitator, Dr Ada Chinwe Nwagwu of the Yaba College of Technology, who also doubles as the HOD of Arts and sub-dean, school of technical education, spoke extensively on trauma that young children today face as well as how to identify and provide support for them. She said trauma in children is becoming more prominent and often goes unidentified or ignored. “Many children are traumatised and while some teachers don’t care, some others cannot identify when a child is undergoing trauma; others do not render support even when they know. This tends to affect their education and this is why I must commend the RoSF, they not only support these children but have gone the extra mile to ensure the caregivers are getting it right.”
She added that just as the foundation is doing, more educators and school administrators need to be retrained often by the ministry of education, on emerging educational trends for children and how best to provide holistic support. Pre-tests and post-tests were conducted on the teachers and Dr Nwagwu said she was very satisfied with the level attained by the teachers after the post-tests.
