Evergreen Schools Boss Seeks to Bridge Gap in Nigerian Education 

Funmi Ogundare 

Mrs. Doris Chinedu-Okoro, founder and CEO of Evergreen Group, a conglomerate of schools, has stressed the need for school owners to equip themselves with creative knowledge to prepare children for the future adequately.

She said this would help close the huge education gap that has been created.

She said teachers must keep abreast of what is happening globally rather than stick to the traditional teaching style.

Chinedu-Okoro, a lawyer, recently stated this during a virtual interview with THISDAY. 

She emphasised the maiden edition of the South East Educators Conference, scheduled for April 18 and 19 at the Nike Resort, Enugu. The conference aims to bring together a diverse lineup of speakers from across the globe to share their expertise and insights in the field of education.

She described the education sector as very dynamic, saying that if educators are not on their toes to meet current realities, they will be left behind.

She recalled her sojourn into the field of education and how she had to keep abreast of best practices in the sector by attending several roundtable dialogues for school owners in Lagos, adding that she is renewed each time.

Chinedu-Okoro, passionate about quality education, expressed optimism that school owners and other stakeholders will shift their thinking after the conference.

She regretted that the country’s education landscape seems imbalanced, saying that some parts of Nigeria move towards what is obtained globally, unlike the South-East, which is still witnessing challenges.

She recalled attending a technology fair in London last year and saying that Nigeria is still far behind in terms of what is obtained there.

The founder expressed delight that the Enugu State government and other southeast governors are willing to participate in the conference to ensure best practices in education. 

She promised that the conference would be followed up to monitor and sustain it through a programme tagged ‘Digitalising Education in Enugu State’ so that schools could do the right thing.

She advised the government to ensure private sector participation in the scheme of things, saying that they could not do it alone.

The Chief Executive Officer of Edumark Consult, Mrs. Yinka Ogunde, also recalled attending the technology fair in London and saying that she left feeling miserable.