29th June, 2012
The superlative performance of pupils of the Lead Forte Gate School, Ogudu GRA in the recently held arts contest in which 132 schools in the country participated, has been attributed to the broad education pupils receive in the school.
This was the consensus at the “Open House” day of the school held recently at its premises. The occasion witnessed exciting display of artistic performances by its pupils. They demonstrated keen and kaleidoscopic appreciation of the various professions and vocations.
Teachers, parents, invited guests and journalists also interacted with the kids, while harping on the need to broaden the career horizon of the Nigerian child right from the formative stages.
According to Doyin Kanimodu, the pupils, with little or no influence of parents or teachers, join various clubs in the school, where their natural abilities are left to bud and thrive.
“We have the Art, Scout, Swimming, Ballet, Home Maker, Karate and Music clubs, among others, which the children are encouraged to join for their development,” she said.
Thus the school affords its pupils a broad education, says Mrs. Adeoye, head teacher, which aims at preparing them for future leadership roles in the various professions.
According to Adeoye, “We make our pupils know that indeed the professions are not limited to Medicine, Law, Engineering or Banking. There are many other vocations like trading, fashion designing, catering, photography, carpentry, cosmetology and modeling, among others.
“People are making a decent living, and becoming responsible citizens while being productively engaged in these alternative career paths.”
Speaking in the same vein, Mr. Joseph Nwatughara, a supervisor, said the pupils are taught from a structured curriculum that incorporates British, American and Nigerian inputs grounded on a Montessori foundation.
“Since we are focused on preparing our pupils for the future to fan out into any of the numerous vocations for which they have native flair, we teach Vocational Aptitude, a subject unique to our school, and quite apart from the other traditional subjects we teach here,” he revealed.
He said this is to ensure that the objective of extending the career scope of the child from an early age is achieved.
Parents had lauded the school’s authorities, saying, if other schools could borrow a leaf from the Lead Forte Gate model, unemployment in the country would be stemmed.
According to Florence Odesanya, one of the elated parents, these efforts at opening up the range of career possibilities for children forms part of the strong points of the school.
She said it would instill the entrepreneurial mindset in the kids arly in life and prepare them for successful adulthood, adding that government should intervene with policy support for such laudable initiatives.