2023 Session 2: The Importance of Education
- Itsekiri NextGen Project: 2023 Session 1 Report
- Topic: World Education day
- Date: Saturday 21st January 2023
- Volunteers Present: 4
- Total Number of Attendees: 70
- Timings: 9:00am – 1:00pm
- Venue: Former Caravan 4, Aja-Pessu (Pessu Town), Warri
- Main Topic/Activity: The Importance of Education
- Resource Person: Uwala Tedeye
Summary
The session reflects the International day of Education. This is because the importance of Education in its diverse form cannot be overemphasized. A person who is educated formally and has a skill will be a useful person. The tendency to become a nuisance in society will be reduced.
Session Delivery
The session which started a bit late began with the opening prayer and then the Itsekiri anthem. The participants were reminded of the need to meet the required 75% attendance for them to continue to be part of the program. The coordinator who was also the facilitator of the day introduced the topic of the session; ‘the importance of Education’.
International day of Education is usually marked on the 24th of January, so we thought it wise to mark it during our 2nd session of 2023. The theme is ‘To invest in people, prioritize education’. An educated person is more than likely to be able to harness more of his/her potential than a non-educated person.
Types of Education
Education, which is defined as the act of imparting and acquiring knowledge and skills, is a sine qua non, no doubt. It comes in three different forms, namely;
- Formal
- Informal
- Non-formal
The participants were made to know that it is imperative for both the boy and the girl child to get educated. This is a way of reducing the level of illiteracy in our society to the barest minimum.
While some people would not want to get a formal education by going to school, It is also good for them to get skills as it is an informal form of education. The participants mentioned some skills they know like tailoring, welding, hairdressing, catering, mechanic, etc.
A participant named Eyitemi made mention of upholstery and carpentry as examples of informal education. He went further to explain that carpentry is the act of making the wood works (more like the skeleton or structure) while upholstery is the act of wrapping and beautifying the wood works and other furniture.
Education is a two-way thing, imparting and acquiring knowledge and skills. Eyitemi in his explanation has imparted knowledge on both the facilitator and his fellow participants, even as he is acquiring knowledge from the facilitator and his boss as he learns skills in an upholstery workshop.
Getting informed about some things at home, in society, in places of worship e.t.c is also a non-formal form of education.
Debate on school no be scam
Towards the end of the session, a debate on “school no be scam” versus “school na scam” was done.
Team Ikenwoli was represented by Rosemary and she spoke about a school not being a scam. She contested against team Atuwatse II ably represented by Besinfe Etuwewe who spoke on school na scam.
Michelle Tuedor represented team Erejuwa II as she spoke on school na scam while Favour Tam-talory spoke on school no be scam.
From the debate, it was clear that people that like education believe in decent jobs and means of livelihood while those who want quick cash by fraud, do not have the time to go to school nor do they have the patience to acquire skills.