Education, Technology: driving force to boost economy

Poised to enhance the standard of education in the country in order to meet up with the global best practises in the21st century, and as a way of driving change in teaching, education management and administration, EduMark, an education branding services held its 7th Total School Support Seminar and Exhibition programme. The two day event themed “Inspiring the Future” held at the Ten Degree event centre, Billingsway, Oregun, Ikeja.

It was a gathering between members of education and business community as they converged to foster, share and synchronise different ways of improving education amongst the youth, who are the driving force of economy of a nation especially in Nigeria in which seventy percent of its population are youths. As technology and educationare like Siamese twins that cannot be separated, new innovations in technology that will enhance learning process were also displayed at the exhibition.

In her opening remarks, wife of Ogun state Governor, Mrs. Olufunso Amosunwho was also the special guest of honour at the event, said that the platform is meant for stakeholders to deliberate and compare notes on how to improve the quality of education and by extension, the economy. She pointed out that the theme of the exhibition was based on the concept that the world and dynamics of education is changing and education – whether formal or informal has overtime taken centre stage in the history of mankind and its significance cannot be overemphasized as it has tremendously impacted on our society.

“Technology in education today has had a phenomenon impact on the education from early years to this present age. It has basically broken down walls, shifted barriers and catapulted Africa into a global place for learning. Education which is the bedrock of development in any given society must be accessible and affordable to all whether rich or poor; it’s a child’s right. We can no longer separate education from technology as it obviously makes learning a lot easier. The advent of computer based learning has changed the level of education across the world and if our students can key-in into the technological advancement, our educators must also change their mode of teaching and the way they disseminate their ideas and information to our pupils and students,” she said.

She also reiterated that the quality of education a country gives its citizens determines to large extent the calibre, capacity and the integrity of the next generation of that particular country. Adding that the quality of a child’s out-put is the direct result of the quality of education in-put that a child has been provided with and this also determine the level of the technological advancement in that particular country.

In a brief interview with one of the resource persons at the event, Mr. Gbenga Adegbola, managing director/chief executive officer, First Veritas Educational Content Delivery limited, he said that the event is a fantastic one as it shows a variety of services and support that education needs. He mentioned that these services and products that educational system has generated over the years is a demonstration of the fact that education is a major component of the national economy. “When there is development in education, it paves ways for technological advancement and it will in no doubt help our economic growth.”

Another participant in a brief chat, Mrs. Evelyn Okonkwo expressed delight and satisfaction at the exhibition, she said that if government can provide these modern technological gadgets for Nigerian schools and institutions, it will make a perfect example of the ’21st century classroom.’ “These will enhance learning, form instructional materials for students and will make learning and classrooms more colourful.”

Amongst the exhibited products and brands at the event are electronic board, a student-teacher computer collaboration using colourful audio-visual and 3-dimentional lesson modules, state of the arts laboratory equipment and furniture, over projectors, school automation technology gadgets, flipchart board and pin boards, Trace interactive whiteboard, modern instructional materials, educational tablets –PCs, etc.

Edumark has close to a decade remained at the vanguard of pioneering innovative projects that develop the core stakeholders in the education sector – school authorities, students and parents. Its entry into the industry is to help institutions manage image issues, develop right marketing communication strategies to enhance the value of the brand and assist schools understand, prepare and overcome the challenges of the market place. It desires to help institutions be the best they can be through very creative and innovative programs and projects. Understanding the fact that education is a powerful change agent, it sees itself as a strategic creative tool powering the sector to successfully bring about the deserve results. This of course has made them a complementary partner to Nigerian educational institutions.