At Christlight, Our Priority is Quality Education —Ateji
He is the Proprietor of Christlight School in Ado-Ekiti, Pastor Olusegun Ateji is an experience teacher and administrator, he spoke with Africanvoice team on the growth and development of Christlight School. Excerpts
Can we meet you, sir?
I am Pastor Olusegun Ateji. I am a retired Federal worker. I currently oversee the Christlight School as the proprietor.
What can you say about your school?
Foremost, we had a vision about 15 years ago when I was in Lagos that we wanted to have a befitting school at home in Ekiti State. We started in 2009; we purchased the land and started putting the structures together. The school commenced in September 2011. At the beginning, things were not easy. To start the school was very herculean. We did not have enough money but we were able to raise some through banks, relatives and co-operatives. We managed to put up the buildings. Enrolment of pupils and students started in 2011 and now, we have a befitting school that is a pride of all.
Tell us sir, those things that differentiate your school from several others?
Christlight is a unique academic institution that provide very conducive atmosphere for students.
What differentiate us from other school is the quality of education we give to our pupils and students. We achieve this because our teacher and other staff are experienced personnel. My wife and I were teachers before we started the school, we know what it takes to run a very good school.
We believed in sound education where pupils or students are trained well. I believe in quality education, we make sure that when we teach our students well, prepare them well for every examination. At least we have been graduating students here for the past six to seven years. Many of our students are doing well, we have some of them in the UK, US and Canada now. We also don’t joke with staff discipline. We make sure we instill discipline in our staff and they cooperate with us.
What are the strategies that keep you afloat?
Like I said, we are a unique school. One of the strategies that had been working for the school is our commitment to quality education. We have structured the school as a citadel of quality learning. Our students have also keyed into this. We don’t compromise quality. We have highly experienced teachers, staff and personnel that help us to achieve this. I was a kid, I happened to be the last child of my father; I was made to understand that if I acquire quality education, I will be successful in life. I got this from my late dad when I was young. So I made quality education a priority in the school.
Another strategy that help me was the engagement of my wife, Lady Evangelist Ateji as the head of school. I specifically pulled her from her career job in Abja to oversee the school as an experience school administrator. She had been responsible for the successes we have recorded in the school. Many can attest to her brilliant and competence.
What are the challenges you face as the school is growing?
As Proprietors, we face a lot of challenges. Everybody knows that finance is always a major challenge for any enterprise. Education is capital intensive, it requires adequate funding. At Christlight, we are not immune from the vagaries of economic down turn in the country. The problem of funding remains a major obstacle for the smooth running of the school. We need money for transportation, personnel and other sundry items. The loads are very heavy and we expect that the government should come to the aid of private school owners. We expect some incentives from government at least to encourage us. They should not coming for taxes and levies only.
What are your words of encouragement for prospective proprietors wishing to go into private school business and your dream for the school?
My advice to prospective proprietors who wish to go into school business is to plan well before venturing into it. They should not rush things and allow God to direct them. They should also seek for capital; as school business is capital intensive. More also, they should strive to have their own structures rather than rented apartments. As I have said earlier, we used the first three to four years to put the structures in place. They should also have a mindset to provide qualitative education for their pupils and students. My dream for the school is for the students to excel in all areas of their endeavors and to be good ambassadors of Christlight anywhere they find themselves. My vision is that Christlight International School be one of the best ten schools in Ekiti State
We Care About Competence, Intelligence And Capacity To Deliver —AT-TAWED Model School
He is the head of school at AT-Taweed Model School, Ado Ekiti. Mr Mustapha Adewale Rasak, spoke to the team of Africanvoice International News on the activities of the Islamic School in the strategies that has helped the school to grow. Excerpt
Can we meet you sir?
My name is Mr. Mustapha Adewale Rasak, representing the school management and I am the head of school.
What can you say about your school?
This is AT-Tawed Model schools. Our school is one of the few outstanding schools in Ekiti State. We are an Islamic oriented school. We are a unique school that provides very quality education to our pupils. We have grown extensively and we have branches across Ekiti State. We are presently in Aramoko, Igbemo, Isan, Ikole, Awo and Ikere. All in Ekiti state. This school is a missionary school. It is not owned by an individual. This school is owned by the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN) Ekiti State chapter. It is founded purposely for the future of the muslim children.
The founder of the school are muslim faithfuls who thought that there’s the need for a muslim school that could take care of the future of their children. They believe that Islamic education with a blend of secular education will assist the new generation of muslims greatly, that’s why the school is a unique one.
The idea came up that why not set up a school for muslims so that the children would be able to practice their religion at the same time have access to secular education because I don’t believe it is western education, because the fathers of education are Arabs. People that originated Algebra were not from the west that is why I don’t ordinarily agree with western education but secular education.
The school is a twin school, because we combine secular and religious education together. Our syllabus covers what it is obtainable in quranic school (ile kewus) and western education, we merged the two together. We have one that is not common to most schools, whatever that is gotten is ploughed back to the school, none of the administrators apart from the staff that takes a penny from the school. They have their children here and their children are paying full fees like others without any deductions.
The school is run more like a charity home because we have a lot of the students that are on scholarship. We have some that are on 100% scholarship
The school is concern about the future progress of the students. We have zero tolerance for examination malpractices and misconduct. We call it a red line, any student that is caught will be punished or send out of school. Any teacher that is involve in unholy acts is also liable for punishment.
This has helped the students to focus on their education and this had propelled them to have quality grades.
When talking about competent hands, we are not dealing with certificates alone but we put the prospective staff into serious recruitment processes. Most especially, those that are taking core subjects are subjected to reel screening to proof their competence.
We also monitor the staff to ensure their works are done appropriately. I move round to ensure things are done in the right way at the right time. We also make sure we provide facilities to both the teachers and students for smooth running of the school.
Officials of WAEC, NECO, Ministry of Education are living witnesses to the school academic excellent performance, through inspection and monitoring during examinations. We have our strategies on how we monitor students during examinations. We make sure that those who supervise are not usually their teachers.
What are the motivating factors that propel your school to grow?
We are motivated by the need to give a better future for the coming generations by providing affordable and quality education that will help them and the society in general. The performance of our student in both internal and external education also forms part of the motivating factor. It continues to embolden us to go on despite the harsh economic situation of the country.
What are the challenges?
The major challenge we face in the running of the school is finance. The only source of finance are from the tuition fees and donations. The fees being paid by the students are what we use to run the school. However, many at times when we are financially down, we seek for financial assistance in form of soft loans and advances.
Government assistance, relationship between the religious and advice for others who may want to engage in school business?
Sincerely speaking, the school does not receive assistance from any external body. Government officials do come for inspection and advice. Their visits always give us the impetus to improve our services, aside this, we don’t receive any aid or assistance from government either locally or internationally.
Lastly, my advice to the potential school owners is that it is capital intensive that involves adequate planning, perseverance and never dies spirit. Whoever wants to dabble into it must be ready to sacrifice all and expect the reward later.
