TOSSE 2017: Nigeria Cannot Make Progress Beyond Her Teachers- Ogunde

Educator and technology developers will at Total School Support Seminar and Exhibition 2017 (TOSSE) parley the government on way forward for education sector in Nigeria.

Similarly, Mrs. Yinka Ogunde, principal consultant, Edumark Consult, and Convener of TOSSE, has warned that Nigeria’s efforts to meet up with the 21st Century economy, are dependent on the progress of teachers who as purveyors of knowledge.

Mrs. Ogunde made the remark during a press Conference to announce Edumark’s readiness ready to host the 9th edition of the Total School Support Seminar and Exhibition (TOSSE).

She said that the educational transformation event that started about nine years ago with just about 30 exhibitors and about 500 educators, has broaden in its scope, attracting educators in thousands from over 20 states in Nigeria and “we have welcomed delegates/exhibitors from the USA, the UK, Middle East, Asia and Africa. As we speak, delegates from Cameroun and Ghana have confirmed their participation for TOSSE 2017. That just shows you that Nigeria has the potential to become the hub of development in education and through education in Africa.

 “We have remained committed to making every edition of TOSSE bigger than the last and this has paid off in gradually actualising our vision for the education sector.

TOSSE being an intensive project to run usually draws questions; people ask why we invest this much energy, time and financial resources in putting the project together and I believe now is a good time to answer those questions. The major reason is our commitment to the development of human resources in the education sector”.

The Convener of TOSSE, however, said that no nation can become greater than its teachers. “Just look around the world; some of the most developed countries invest heavily in the education sector and they try to synchronise the academia and industry. The strength of globally-acclaimed Silicon Valley and her relationship with nearby Stanford University is a typical example. The interdependency between Silicon Valley and the university is a beautiful one to observe.  It is clear that when teachers are well-equipped with up-to-date knowledge on methods, models, metrics and modern tools of their art, their delivery in the classroom will improve; their relationship with students will improve and we will record more positive learning outcomes. Then, teachers will share relevant knowledge and a functional education that goes beyond rote learning”.

On why TOSSE is relevant in today’s education system in Nigeria and Africa in general, she said, “This is why since inception, seminars by seasoned education professionals have ALWAYS been a major highlight of TOSSE. We’ve never missed it. This year, we are running 18 FREE seminars. The way it is, a teacher is only as good as his last training, which in the education space is called CPD- Continuous Professional Development. That’s why we carefully plan TOSSE seminars to cover a wide range of academic/social/emotional topics for educators. It is our own way of contribution to ‘Training the Trainer’. The seminar topics are chosen based on the current pulse of the sector.

“They are carefully selected to provide solutions to pressing or imminent challenges so that even if a school or an educator cannot afford the cost of workshops and seminars elsewhere, by simply bringing all the members of staff to TOSSE once a year, the teachers can be up-to-par on improved and revolutionised ways of delivering quality education. For example, Praise Fowowe, a well-known sexuality education expert will be speaking at TOSSE to help equip participants at the event for the sake of our children.

“With safety becoming a critical issue, Taiwo Akinlami is also expected at TOSSE. We also expect personalities such as Mrs Lai Koiki, the phenomenal founder of Greensprings School and a host of other veterans”.

Mrs. Ogunde enumerated some of the topics to be learnt at TOSSE 2017 as Quality Assurance in Education: Models, Methods and Metrics that Work; Strategies for Innovative Curriculum Delivery; Better than Google: The Art of Being a Brilliant Teacher; Maximising the Early Years for a Successful Future; Creating Processes for (Sexual) Abuse Prevention; Understanding Taxation for Private Schools in Nigeria; and    Learning Through Travel: Enhancing Students’ Learning Experience.

“Also, every year, we hold special sessions to show teachers what’s new in the world of education. This year, we are extending the “What’s New?” segment to one full hour. During this period, educators can learn about new strides, methods and technologies that have worked elsewhere which we can adapt to our own unique system.

“This year, we are bringing in the whole tripod: educators, parents and students. We have concentrated on educators for a while, but increasingly, there is an obvious gap in parent education which we believe that some of the sessions at TOSSE will help resolve.

Beyond that, we are expecting over 100 credible exhibitors of innovative educational products at TOSSE.

These are organisations that have simplified solutions and processes for the sector and packaged them into products. The thought behind this is if you plan to start a great school from scratch or you see that your school needs to be reformed (and many schools fall in this category), you can walk into TOSSE and get everything you need from books to computers, laboratory equipment, learning aids, special education solutions and equipment, curriculum, uniforms, stationery and every other thing”.

Education and Technology
She also said that technology will be getting well-deserved huge attention at TOSSE 2017 and the reason is obvious.

“By now, if anyone was ever in doubt, I’m confident we can all agree that technology is not going away. It has not only changed the way we live, learn and do business, it will continue to do so. This means that we (educators and parents) would be the ones to change if we want to survive the wave, as it is commonly said, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.”

It is also said that ‘You can’t do today's job with yesterday's tools if you want to be in business tomorrow.’  I take that to mean you can’t teach today’s children with yesterday’s methods and expect them to thrive tomorrow.

Mrs. Toyin Idowu, executive director, Gloryville School, Ebute-Meta, also aligned with TOSSE Convener, that the ability of children, who are the end products of the nation’s education system to survive and thrive in the dynamic, completely unpredictable world of the future, depends on the quality of educators or teachers to prepare them for that future.

“The future world of work is one that my generation and yours can neither comprehend nor predict. With talks of artificial intelligence and other leaps in the technology, one cannot predict which profession will be extinct and which will thrive. But we can safely predict that children with above average technology skills will have more competitive advantage than those without. Knowing this, we will be doing our children unforgiveable disservice if we do not expose them to the highest level of tech knowhow. And who will teach them if we don’t help the teachers learn first?”

“As a matter of fact, with the gravity of the impact of technology on education, we will be holding the very first edition of TOSSE Tech in the first quarter of 2018. We must do our best to help our children get it right. We cannot still be teaching “parts of a computer” when children their age build robots for leisure. Like I said earlier, it will be an unforgiveable disservice”, she added.

TOSSE 2017 also promises to be a highly rewarding social networking platform for all participants as the event promises to mark a phenomenal turn for good in Nigeria’s education space.