Oyo State is blessed with so many successful professionals and one of them is Dr (Mrs) Bisi Akin-Alabi. In addition to beauty and agelessness, this brilliant educationist is the Special Adviser to Governor Abiola Ajimobi on Education. In this chat with Olayinka Agboola, she speaks about her passions, aspirations and duties. Excerpts:
Can our readers meet you Ma?Â
I am Dr Bisi Akin-Alabi, a passionate education practitioner and lover of young children. I am extremely passionate about sustainable development, access to equitable and qualitative education.
What of your educational background?
I attended St Michael’s Primary School, then Anglican Grammar School, Orita Mefa. I also attended Federal School of Science, Victoria Island, then, the University of Lagos. I later traveled to London to attend the following institutions – University of Westminster, Southbank University, Roehampton Institute, all in London.
What were you doing before joining the government of Senator Abiola Ajimobi in Oyo State?
I was an education consultant, a publisher of an education magazine (Schoolrun), teacher and education development enthusiast amongst other roles.
What kind of person do you think Governor Abiola Ajimobi is? Do you think he is particularly passionate about turning around the education sector in the state?
My Boss, mentor and big brother is a true democrat who is resolute about his intentions to turn the fortunes of our dear state around for good. He has gone to great heights to demonstrate his commitment and determination to ensure that education is restored to an enviable position in Nigeria. He is a doer, a change agent who has recorded a number of unrivaled innovations in launching specific education policies such as Compulsory 80% attendance for school children, Schools Governing Boards, No automatic promotion, OYOMESI which is the first in Nigeria whereby challenges of education access equity and quality assurance is tackled in a holistic fashion to deliver wholesome education offerings in the state.
You are a professional educationist, how will you define ‘wholesome education’?
Wholesome education is the combination of a unique blend of offerings that produces a whole child – balanced, decent and capable of imparting life skills needed to become successful and economically viable. That is why we have introduced OYOMESI that is an acronym for Oyo State Model Education System Interventions. OYOMESI has identified 3 key Strands to attain its objective; these are –                                                a) Character Education – we focus on rebuilding the character of our youth through mentoring, the support of positive role models and ensuring our youth are job ready via a range of work experience schemes. The essence of self-help and entrepreneurship will be demonstrated during these sessions.
- b) Introduction of Localised Education Content – here, we ensure that education is localized and on tap by the creation of a web portal, available to all teachers, parents and students in the state. Study and examination help materials, tools and technique for success, as well as the reporting of examination performance for each student in the state, per term, will now be available for all, online.
- c) Teachers Professional Development – Without continuous focus on developing our teachers, attaining our desired objective will be virtually impossible.
OYOMESI is focused on using different interventional strategies to effect an attitudinal change in pupils, teachers, parents, government and the society at large, develop a range of teaching and learning aerials that are based on localised content and relevance to what is currently trending in the socio-economic space of the state and thirdly improving teachers’ capacities and recognising their efforts and celebrating their achievements.
We hope that OYOMESI shall define the way teaching and learning are offered to pupils in pry and secondary schools, be it public and private. It is about meeting the SDGs for and enhancing access to education. The vision is ‘to raise competent civil citizens’.
Without raising teaching standards, the vision of OYOMESI cannot be achieved. In this article, how an Oyo State teacher today will be reshaped into one of the best teaching staff in our nation Nigeria is evaluated.
Continuous professional development for all teachers in the state is a must for all in the state henceforth, not only will we improve the standards, educational and personal capability of our teachers, we have also initiated a structured incentive scheme to motivate them to achieve their best for our pupils.
Where do you see Oyo State in terms of educational development by the Year 2019?
My hope is that we would have been seen to have changed our education landscape and ecosystems, achieved more collaborations beyond the school boundaries, creativity in pupils and improved attainment levels in pupils, increased population of competent and civil individuals who are not just educated but enlightened and capable of making informed choices about their future, hence governable, economic viable and able to compete in the global scene.
Many critics have been asking questions about Oyo Government’s model schools being constructed. What update do you have on this Ma?
 The model schools will all be ready in the next two weeks by His Grace. Works are being rounded up and the schools shall soon be ready
As at today, what is happening at LAUTECH and the new Technical University Ibadan specifically?
The latest development as regards LAUTECH is that the Institution has officially resumed on the 15th September 2017. This was announced a couple of days ago by the newly inaugurated governing council headed by Prof. Afolabi. The two owner states were even commended by the Alumni association of LAUTECH for promising to make available six months salaries to be paid to the lecturers pending the outcome of the ongoing forensic audit. As regards The Technical University, it is the first of its type in West Africa and we cannot even begin to realise the implications of this visionary but strategic move of His Excellency Sen. Abiola Ajimobi towards bequeathing a legacy of improving the education ecosystems in a way that affords our nation the opportunity to become a knowledge based society.
On a personal note…what is the secret of this your look at 50? How do you maintain balance between keeping the home and working as a close aide to Governor Abiola Ajimobi?
 If I say I do anything special, I would be lying. It is just the grace of the Almighty. I am blessed with the genes that I inherited from my parents. I am a workaholic that is so restless and thrive on a culture of challenge. I don’t have a social habit and tend to keep to myself when not working. I covet my personal space. As for home front, my family members are not here in Nigeria and the children are all grown up. My youngest child is 20 and currently in his final year in the University studying Law. So I do not have younger children that require attention. I love what I do, imparting knowledge and giving back to the society. I am grateful for the opportunity given to me to serve. Working with His Excellency, Senator Abiola Ajimobi is a honour as he is so cerebral, exposed and rounded. One cannot but learn one or two things from him daily.
What message do you have for parents, students and others as schools prepare to resume?Â
Parents must be seen to play active roles in their children’s education and learning because they are merely investing in their future. Support the Schools and attend all statutory meetings, open evenings. Parents must seek to set targets jointly with teacher for their children’s learning, ensure their children are well, appropriately dressed and ready for learning. Parents can also support the school by ensuring their children obey all the school rules and are well behaved in and out of the classroom.
