Chika Mgbemena, proprietress, Malvin Meadow School, Lagos in this interview provided insight to moulding a total child and sundry issues in education sector. 

Excerpts:

By Tare Youdeowei

WITH the challenges facing Nigeria’s education system in terms of basic education, what impact do you think Malvin Meadow School will create to solve this challenge?

Chika Mbemena

Nigeria faces a myriad of problems in her educational sector. Some of these problems are over-crowding in schools, reduced quality of staff, inadequate facilities in school and above all, the problem of developing an academic standard that will develop pupils who are at par with their counterparts globally.

Malvin Meadow School operates in a serene environment in the heart of Maryland.    This is because we believe that the best learning will occur in an environment free from the various distractions of the street. We offer the best of the British and Nigerian Curricula because as everyone knows, the world is now a global village.    Young minds must be prepared to deal with information from a world perspective.

A big part of Education is developing character and no teacher can develop the character of a child he/she does not know.    This is why the number of pupils in class matters.    We have a policy of no more than 20 pupils in a class.    This way, the teacher can really get to know the pupils, their character, personalities and abilities. By so doing, the instructor can teach and develop them effectively.

As for facilities, the school is well equipped to educate future leaders of the world.    We have an ICT room, Music and Fine Art studios, conducive classrooms, huge playground, and library among others to make sure that pupils have access to not just theory but practical approaches to learning.

All together, the school is prepared to take on the challenges of training the children of the 21st century and beyond.

In what ways are the activities of your school tailored to meet the education aspiration of parents who decide to send their children to your school?

At Malvin Meadow School, we believe that every child can learn and should be given the opportunity to do so.    This is why the individual capabilities of each child are carefully considered as we teach.

Learningneeds

We work very hard to meet the learning needs of each child so that he/she has the opportunity to achieve his/ her true potential.

One of our goals as a school is to educate the total child.    The total child is not only made up of academics. The total child must also have the opportunity to express himself or herself.    This is why we offers a variety of extra- curricular activities such as Taekwondo, Dance, Drama, Swimming etc in order to give pupils the opportunity to find and pursue their personal interests.

As a school, how do you hope to stay above competition?

The fact is that as a school, we never thought of ourselves as being in competition with anyone.    Our ultimate focus is the education and development of a total child. Malvin Meadow School has facilities and has set standards that can meet the challenges of educating the 21st century child.

Tell us about your background and reason for setting up of the school?

I consider myself as a woman of many accomplishments.    I am a trained lawyer with a Bachelors of Letters of Law (LLB) and holds a Masters in Commercial and International Law (LLM) from the University of Buckingham, United Kingdom.

I was called to the Nigerian Bar and is an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria having graduated as a Barrister-at-Law (BL) from the Nigerian Law School. In addition to these, I further obtained a Bachelors of Science (BSc) Degree in Accounting from the University of Nigeria as well as a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Lagos.

I believe very much that a good education is the key to any positive achievement in life. As a parent of young children in England and later in Nigeria, I have always been actively involved in the education of young people.    In the UK, I regularly contribute to the Activators Club, a programme designed to care for children academically and personally after school.

In Nigeria, I regularly hold meeting with Principals and Heads of schools where my children attend to discuss and implement ways of improving the delivery of education in those schools.

I will say my dedication to education led to my obtaining a Postgraduate Certificate in Education from Nottingham University,(PGCEi) UK as well as a Certificate in Entrepreneur Management (CEM) from the Lagos Business School.

It is base on my passion, commitment and hard work that finally led to the setting up of Malvin Meadow School because I am fully committed to developing the maximum potential of all her pupils.