Capacity building of education secretaries, key to effective delivery of basic education – HDI

The executive director, Human Development Initiative (HDI) Nigeria, Olufunso Owasanoye, has identified periodic capacity building of education secretaries (ES) in Lagos State as the key factor for achieving a holistic, efficient and effective delivery of basic education outcomes in Nigeria.

Owasanoye posits that education secretaries are the foundation and building blocks of the education sector, hence the need to build their capacity for effective and efficient delivery of the teaching-learning process.

“If the foundation is not strong, whatever is built on it will not stand. We felt since these are at the helm of basic education; let’s build their capacity in the areas of strategic effectiveness – their efficiency in the education system,” she stated this at the two-day capacity building training programme for Education Secretaries in Lagos State, focusing on personal health and strategic management of the school system.

According to her, the primary purpose of the training was to influence the education secretaries to think outside the box on measures that can be adopted to improve the current structure and ensure a successful basic education system in Lagos. “We started with health and it was intentional because when you don’t have physical and emotional wellbeing there is no way you can be productive in your work. So, we just picked some important areas that can help them to achieve these objectives,” said Owasanoye.

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Stephen Adebanjo Oyebade, department of educational management, faculty of education, University of Lagos, said education is the totality of an individual’s experiences right from the cradle to the grave. According to him, this makes the education process a lifetime experience for individuals, with impacts on their cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains.

According to Oyebade, who spoke on ‘Strategic Management for Effectiveness and Efficiency in the School System in Lagos State, Nigeria’, the workshop is aimed at empowering the participants on the strategies to adopt in achieving effective and efficient planning and management of education in the respective LGEAs of Lagos State.

“Education Secretaries are responsible for the day-to-day administration of the affairs of the basic education aspect of the school system. They are the overall policy and opinion leaders on education matters in the ministry,” he said.

Adejoke Jaiyeoba, one of the resource persons from the University of Lagos, said achieving positive health is possible through commitment, planning and a positive mindset. According to Jaiyeoba, to individually manage our health, certain lifestyle changes are expected to be inculcated into the individual daily life routine.