Anthos House Students Get ASDAN Certificates

Uchechukwu Nnaike

Some students of Anthos House, Lagos, a school for special needs students, have been certified by the Award Scheme Development and Accreditation Network (ASDAN) after completing vocational courses.

Speaking during the presentation of certificates to the students recently, the Deputy Director of Education, Dr. Barney Wilson, said the students were certified after acquiring life skills, relationships, citizenship, responsibilities, and how to comport themselves.

“These students know about humanity. They know about decency and respect. So the ASDAN programme gives them the life skills that they need to be successful. So this is the first of many completions, the first of many certificates,” said Wilson. “This is a historic occasion. These students are earning their certificates. They are the first in the history of Anthos House to be receiving an ASDAN certification.”

The head of the school, Dr. Kimberley Scollard, said a child diagnosed with a learning disorder could excel academically.
“So it’s wonderful to see all their hard work being rewarded with a certificate that is a recognisable transferable certificate,” stated Scollard.
She described the students as smart, dedicated, and talented, saying they discovered things about themselves that they had no idea they were capable of.
Scollard added that the students learn a little more differently than mainstream students. Anthos House teaches all the courses that a mainstream school teaches, but the subjects are more practical.

The assistant principal, Mrs. Atinuke Ogunnaike, said just as students in mainstream schools require IGCSE and other certificates for further studies, the special needs students require ASDAN certifications.

She said the certificate is equivalent to the BTech, but while BTech is timed, ASDAN allowed the students to achieve it at their pace, so there is no rushing the child.