Education Advocates Address Leadership Gaps, Skills, Digital Education in Schools

Kuni Tyessi in Abuja

Teesas Education, a pioneering and innovative education technology (EdTech) company, has advocated leadership, social-emotional skills and digital education in Nigerian schools.

This call was made Tuesday by the founder and chairman of Teesas Education, Mr. Osayi Izedonwen, in Abuja, when the EdTech company brought together owners of leading schools, top school managers and stakeholders in the education sector to discuss strategies to prepare children for work in the future.

Izedonmwen said Teesas Leader in Me (LIM) is a whole-school transformation program delivered in partnership with Franklin Covey Education, a global performance improvement company.

The program based on ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ is integrated with teaching core academic subjects including Math, English and Science through the Teesas Education App.”

The keynote speaker and former Commissioner of Education, Lagos State, Hon. Folasade Adefisya, said the Teesas LIM program includes topics like personal leadership which teaches children to take responsibility, leading to less disciplinary problems. She also highlighted other topics covered by the program like win-win solutions and sharpen the saw.

“IQ gets you a job, but emotional intelligence helps you keep it. Emotional intelligence can be taught and mastered because habits are things we continually do,” she said.

Regional Director of Franklin Covey Education, Justin Permenter, said research suggests that by the year 2050, nearly half of the world’s children under 18 will be on the African continent and so while it would be an exciting time for Africa, it is time for Africa to prepare for that future.

Permenter stated that the model of schools hasn’t changed much in the last 100 years although the 21st century challenges are different.

He added that there’s been a shift from the industrial age to the knowledge age while stating that analytical thinking, creative thinking, technological literacy, empathy and active listening, leadership and social influence are some of the top skills identified by the World Economic Forum Future of Jobs 2023 Report.

Similarly, McKinsey’s Future of Work Skills Report released in 2023 identified 56 foundational skills which can be grouped into four categories: cognitive, interpersonal, self-leadership and digital skills.

“’Leader in Me’ addresses school development in three aspects: culture, leadership and academics. While the ‘7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ is a foundation for the program, it rests on five paradigms – namely: leadership, potential, change, motivation and education,” he said.