As Blooming Greens School, Yaba, Lagos marks its 10th Year Anniversary, Susan Babatunde-Yamah, the CEO in this interview with IFEOMA OKEKE-KORIEOCHA, reflects on a decade of applying corporate discipline to education. From banking to the classroom, she’s built a school designed to run on systems, measurable outcomes, and sustainable governance. Here’s how the last 10 years have shaped that approach.
What core operational or risk-management principle from the banking sector did you find most missing in traditional school administration, and how did you implement it at Blooming Greens School, Yaba, Lagos?
In banking, every decision is tied to risk mapping, controls, and accountability. Over the last 10 years at Blooming Greens School, Yaba, Lagos, I found that most schools operated without a formalized risk and operations framework – things like incident tracking, financial controls at department level, and standardized processes for quality assurance were often absent.
To mark our 10th year, I can say this shift has been foundational. We introduced a risk register and operational SOPs across academics, finance, and student welfare. Monthly reviews on academic performance variance, fee collection efficiency, and compliance checks now give us early warning signals. That move from reactive firefighting to proactive management is one of the biggest gains of our first decade.
How have you structured the administrative framework of Blooming Greens School, Yaba, Lagos to ensure it functions as a sustainable corporate entity rather than a personalized venture?
Sustainability comes from systems, not individuals, and that’s been our focus as we celebrate 10 years in Yaba, Lagos. We built Blooming Greens around a clear governance and management separation: a Board of Governors for oversight, a defined executive management team, and documented delegation of authority.
Each department – academics, operations, finance, HR – runs on KPIs and documented processes, not on personal directives. We’ve also invested in leadership succession by training middle managers to own units end-to-end. As we enter our second decade, the goal remains the same: if I step away tomorrow, the school’s operations, culture, and standards continue without disruption.
With a PGD in Business Administration and an MBA in Marketing, how do you approach the “branding” and competitive positioning of Blooming Greens School, Yaba, Lagos in a highly saturated market like Lagos?
In Lagos, parents have options, so you can’t compete on promises alone. Over 10 years in Yaba, we’ve positioned Blooming Greens on three pillars: technology-enabled learning, character development, and measurable academic outcomes.
For our 10th Year Anniversary, we’re leaning into proof points from the last decade – student projects, exam results, alumni stories, and parent testimonials. We use data to segment parents and tailor messaging, whether it’s STEM outcomes for tech-inclined families or pastoral care for those focused on holistic development. Branding here isn’t the logo; it’s the consistent experience parents and students have had with us for 10 years.
Many schools deploy technology as a marketing gimmick, but you emphasize technology-driven learning solutions at Blooming Greens School, Yaba, Lagos. How do you measure the actual return on investment [ROI] of edtech in terms of student cognitive development?
ROI on edtech has to be measured in learning outcomes, not device count. In our 10 years at Blooming Greens School, Yaba, Lagos, we’ve been deliberate about this.We track three things:
Cognitive gains: Pre- and post-assessments tied to specific digital tools measure improvement in critical thinking, problem-solving, and subject mastery.
Engagement and retention: Analytics from our learning platforms show time-on-task, completion rates, and concept mastery. Operational efficiency: We measure teacher time saved on grading and admin, and how that time is reinvested into personalized instruction.
If a platform doesn’t move at least two of those three metrics after a pilot, we don’t scale it. As we celebrate 10 years, the data shows this discipline has directly improved student outcomes and teacher productivity.
Can you speak on Curriculum innovation for AI, data & ‘Future of Work’ ?
The Future of Work is already here, so waiting till secondary school is too late. At Blooming Greens, we embed ‘future skills’ into foundational learning.
From primary school, our students do coding, design thinking, and data literacy — not as extracurriculars, but in core lessons. But tech alone isn’t enough. We pair it with the 4Cs: _Critical thinking, Creativity, Collaboration, Communication_ + strong values. Our goal is to have learners who can use technology as a tool, but still think ethically and solve Nigeria’s problems.
That’s how we align primary education with the future economy. Our students are intentionally exposed to industry experiences during their field trips.
How do you retain premium teaching talent amid ‘Japa’ wave ?
Japa’ isn’t just about salary. Teachers leave when there’s no growth, no respect, and no purpose. So our retention strategy is 3-fold:
Professional growth: Every teacher has an Individual Development Plan. We encourage professional certifications such as TRCN, run in-house training with global partners, and create clear paths from classroom teacher → HOD → leadership.
Culture + recognition: We build a culture where teachers are decision-makers, not just employees. We also offer performance bonuses, regular staff promotions and assistance even on personal financial obligations.
Competitive pay + wellbeing: We benchmark against top industry standards, not the market average. We also support wellbeing — flexible schedules, HMOs, support internal staff welfare contributory schemes, etc
When teachers feel developed and valued, they stay. And they become our best recruitment channel.
How can inflationary pressures be managed without pricing out middle-class parents?
Inflation from diesel, FX, and learning materials is real. But a school that prices out its community will eventually empty.
Our approach is _efficiency + smart unbundling:
Operational efficiency: We digitize admin — fees, attendance, reports — to reduce paper and man-hours. Bulk procurement and vendor renegotiation also help.
Phased value: Core tuition covers quality teaching, facilities, and tech. Premium add-ons like clubs, foreign exams, etc are optional. Parents choose what fits their budget without the child missing core subjects.
Transparency: We explain cost drivers to parents and in advance. When they see value, they’re more willing to stay and pay.
The goal is premium quality with middle-class access. That’s sustainable growth.
Can you speak on your structural /regulatory hurdles + 5-year expansion roadmap?
Scaling a premium school in Nigeria comes with real structural friction:
Regulatory overlap: You deal with LASG, UBEC, TRCN, NABTEB, and sometimes federal agencies. Approvals are slow and requirements sometimes conflict. We solve this with strong compliance and legal counsel from day one.
Land + infrastructure: Secure land title in Lagos is expensive and complex. Construction costs have doubled in 3 years but the good thing is that we own our property. We don’t pay rent.
Capital: Banks rarely understand education as an asset class, so growth capital is limited.
Our 5-year roadmap for Blooming Greens:
Year 1-2: Consolidate: Double down on our tech + values positioning. Build our teacher training academy as a revenue stream.
Year 3-4: Replicate: Our nursery school now is a semi independent school with its management team. We will enhance its structure. The High School is also in place, growing in stature. The A Level School is about to be launched in collaboration with higher institutions within and outside the country using asset-light models and strategic partnerships
Year 5: Scale impact: Launch an edtech arm to export our curriculum and teacher training beyond our walls. The vision is to prove a Nigerian school brand can be world-class, profitable, and replicable.
The hurdle is high, but the opportunity is bigger.
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