By Ebun Sessou

Mrs Eugenia Olubusola George, is an educationist who based in Atlanta Georgia. She is the president and founder of Higher Height Solutions, a consulting company, as well as the president, Nigerian Women Association of Georgia. Georgia who believes her mission on earth is to serve humanity, is also a member of the Eko Club International.

In this interview, she bares her mind on some prevailing issues surrounding education in Nigeria, and also calls on the Nigerian government to wake up from their slumber and find lasting solution to the nation’s educational sector.

Excerpts.

What is the vision of the Nigerian Women Association of Georgia?

The vision of the organisation is to empower women, children and youth and to foster the Nigerian culture in the United State, especially Atlanta Georgia.

How long have you been in the United States?

Thirteen years.  We went to the United States in 1979.

How did the association begin?

It was founded in 2000 by Mrs. Dayo Keshi whose husband was the Consular General of Atlantic Georgia at that time. She felt it was necessary to bring women together and that was how the association started. She started with very few people, and today, it has grown.

What has the organisation been able to do in terms of service to humanity?

We have rendered medical assistance by providing and supplying drugs to eleven states in Nigeria, including Abia, Osun and Rivers States amongst others. The fact that the organisation has been in existence for 10 years, shows how committed we are in the service to humanity.

This organisation has been consistent and unwavering in its mission statement. Our strength lies in our ability to be consistent and focus on the mission. We have given scholarships to over 350 women in Nigerian universities and are supporting ten orphanages as well.

We also grant voluntary donations to some smaller non-profit organisations with similar mission, including the Sickle Cell Foundation, Georgia. We are promoting the Nigerian culture through the National Black-Art Festival which is an annual event.

*Mrs Eugenia Olubusola George …Schools should respect and restore discipline to bring back the lost glory of educational standard.

It is an avenue for people to see what goes on all over the world between the African and American culture. The programme was initiated during my administration and we are hoping that it continues. It serves as avenue for Nigerians to promote tourism. Nigeria is rich and tourism is a resource that could boost its wealth.

What has the group been able to achieve in the past eleven years?

We have been able to promote Nigerian culture. We have been able to have school out-reach programmes on culture and norms. We have given scholarships to over 350 women in Nigerian universities like I earlier mentioned and the reason for that is that, we feel that we should empower women- which is the watchword for our organisation.

Women are always marginalised and we want to bridge the gap. We believe we should educate women who would then educate the nation. We also believe that they are leaders of tomorrow and so, it is important that they are educated. They are trained on leadership roles in the community. We work in collaboration with Eko Club International for the medical mission in Lagos State.

How would you evaluate your success in the area of sponsoring women through school?

We have witnessed a lot of them. Some of them went back to school, some have graduated, some are in positions of authority and they have been reciprocating the same.  We believe that the Nigerian government has a challenge and that is on education.

Nigerian educational system needs improvement and it is the duty of everybody to ensure that education gets to the grassroots. Besides that, the learning condition and teachers’ salary need to be improved upon. Teachers are leaders in the community because they impact the lives of our children.

They hold an important role in our community which shouldn’t be overlooked. In the United States, teachers are highly respected but I don’t know about Nigeria. All I can say is that, if you are an educator, people believe that your influence is great and so, if you are able to touch lives then you begin to understand the future of Nigeria through a teacher.

We always say that parents are the first teachers but it is important that we appreciate the role of a teacher. Therefore, a wholesome education is very important because some people are educated illiterate because it is not only the book knowledge that matters, it includes the ability to work along with others.

And that is why we are canvassing on cooperative learning group. It is possible for a teacher to influence his or her student negatively. If she wants to inspire you to action, she has all what it takes to do that. Educators are very powerful and they hold the key to the children. So, if they are not well paid, they might not give their best.

But if you put lots of money into education, then you will begin to enjoy and one begins to look at Nigeria as great country through the influence of the teacher. Parents should be curious about what children are exposed to in the classrooms.

Every teacher must be able to teach outside the curriculum. Until Nigerians invest in education, we will continue to have the same result. When the minds of the children are engaged with positive education measures, you begin to see the impact in the lives of the country. Teachers play an important role in the building of the nation.

Fallen educational standards, way forward

Schools should respect and restore discipline to bring back the lost glory of our educational standard. Performance should be regarded and respected more than just paper qualification. Equally, education should not be politicized for whatever reason. Policy makers should be mindful of policies that affect education.

Teachers should be involved in examination activities and examination bodies should always publish examination reports and distribute them to various schools for them to hold school workshop for training of subject teachers, on their areas of weaknesses observed in the students’ scripts, with regards to following the marking scheme. More schools should be built to increase accessibility. Cognitive, affective and psycho-motor domain should be used for assessment of students.

Teachers’ welfare should be given priority by government to avoid unnecessary strikes in our educational sector, while more qualified teachers should be employed to curb the present shortage of teachers in our schools. Our civilian government should prove to the people that they are better than the military.

Teachers should be trained so that they can meet up with new challenges. Educational facilities should be upgraded to modern standards, while teaching facilities should be adequately provided. Corruption should be eliminated to the barest minimum by all stakeholders, while government should increase its budgetary allocations to education to improve the standard of education in Nigeria.