Permanent Secretary/Tutor General, Lagos State Education District V, Mrs. Olufunmilayo Onadipe, has sought private sector’s involvement in education for the sector to grow.
To develop education system that is relevant to national development and industrial growth, career awareness among secondary school students should be focused on extensively, she added.
Onadipe spoke at Oregun at Junior High School, Lagos, during the maiden career guidance workshop organised by Promasidor Nigeria Limited, makers of Cowbell, Milk, and other quality brands.
She addressed participants at ‘Harness your dream’, programme, which was facilitated by staff of Promasidor.
She said: “I am very excited about the initiative.
“We need to nurture the kids as they grow. It is about catching them young. When we help them, nurture their career interests, they grow up with a clear picture of what they want to do.
“I am so happy with Promasidor Nigeria for this noble idea, and I pray that other companies will do a similar thing. The participants are currently in Junior Secondary School class three. What this means is that they already know exactly the subjects they will focus on in their senior classes.”
The firm’s Managing Director, Mr. Anders Einarsson, said the programme which targets JSS3 students because of the sensitive nature of the class, would help them marry their passion and talents to make the right choice.
Einarsson, who was represented by the company’s Head of Legal/PR, Mr. Andrew Enahoro, said: ‘It is a catch-them-young scheme. This implies that the young people who go through the process will have the rare opportunity of subjecting their options to a clinical test before they start learning the essential subjects required to be the best in their chosen professions.”
He further said: “The programme is an interface between students and experts who have excelled tremendously in their careers, each giving the students hands-on experience.
‘This is worthwhile at a time when the gap between theory and practice is widening. This will also create an opportunity for mentorship that will last for a lifetime.”
Principal of the school, Mrs. Adenike Oresanya, said she was optimistic that the students would leave the workshop more enlightened about their career options. Oresanya said she was particularly happy with emerging careers such as Information and Communication Technology, with which they the students were exposed to.