Kamis, 15 September 2011

Emeka Ike discusses his investment in school project venture


Emeka Ike discusses his investment in school project venture
With years of experience in Nollywood, Emeka Ike has graced the screens of thousands of African Movies fans. Through his acts, he has also benefited financially. But unlike other celebrities who opt to expend their resources on creating public appeal, Emeka decided otherwise, focusing instead on progressive activities including investments in school projects:
Please do tell us a little about your school?
My school is called ‘St Nikolas College’. It’s day and boarding school and has all the facilities you’ll find in a good school.
What qualification does someone need to enter the school?
The normal West African ‘Common Entrance’ primary six certificates.
Is the school recognized?
It is a Government approved secondary school. Every Government approved Secondary school – so far you have students – your students can seat for WAEC.
How affordable is the school?
It’s very affordable. We didn’t go expensive, because we want to get the right card. There is politics everywhere; there is politics over the school thing.
What do you mean by politics?
The people that are there before you, they don’t want to show you the right door, they don’t want to see you grow. They don’t want to see you get any better, but you just have to keep fighting; there’s a whole lot going on.
What are the challenges you face managing such a school in Nigeria?
The first challenge is to really survey to know if the people that are looking for jobs are really seriously looking for the job, or they just want to make quick money. There are two different kinds of people that are searching for the jobs; those who are really compassionate towards what they are doing, able to manage their students, and of course they receive pay but to them it is not all about money. Some will be difficult; some will be doing eye-service. So it’s really challenging to differentiate between these kinds of people.
The other ones are the people who are fighting to run you down. They are scared of you becoming the eye in that business. They used to be there before you and would do anything for you not to grow. You can be surprised that a teacher can be earning two salaries in this business.
How?
What I mean is earning salary at your school as your teacher and also earning salary from someone who sent her to be sort of problem in your school. They will be sent to be employed for the purpose of creating problems and to destroy the image of your school. They will be receiving salaries in your school and then receiving other salaries from people who sent them. You come to discover these things only when you go into the system.
Are so many of them like that?
No, there are some passionate teachers who really love the job; you have to give the job to them. So these are the challenges. And again, the parents want the teachers and the school to do everything for them; they want the school to change their children in totality. Most of them don’t make impact at all on the lives of their children. Some go as far as not even providing for their kids with essential things like clothes. Some are not even making any impact on their kids’ private lives. Most parents are carried away with so many jobs and other activities, and kind of abandon their children. Some are not even there to share their opinions; this is making the job even more difficult.
Talking about the passionate teachers; what kinds of qualifications must a teacher have before you consider employing him/her?
It’s a rule in my school that you must have a BA in Education, in fact, B.ED which means Bachelors in Education. And of course, even with their B.EDs, they still have to undergo interviews. So if six come for interviews even with their BA’s we’ll still be able to choose the best.
So now we break it down to Bachelor of Education, which means they should have extra lessons. If you did chemistry and someone did chemistry as a teacher, they’re two different things, because the teacher has to convey the message to the student. So there are some other electric courses, about five other electric courses, a teacher has to do to make her a chemistry teacher student and not just a chemistry graduate. They are to have the qualities of good teachers, must be able to teach chemistry, so that is the (B.ED) the qualification for every of the subject.
Talking about paying salaries in Nigeria; with complains that teachers are either underpaid and in some cases owed for months; is there any difference between private and Government schools in the salary aspect?
Private schools’ payments are a bit more attractive. Like in my school, the lowest is about 35,000 Naira, and this goes up, some of our teachers are really earning good money. The government runs the system in public schools. What we discover is that public schools lack a little bit of attention and people love their kids to have a little more attentions.
What motivated you into opening such a school?
I was always second to last when I was a student. From primary one to primary five, I came 30th out of 31st.This continued until one day in primary five our class teacher came into the class and said: “This is banana and anybody who breaks down this Arithmetic will take this bunch of banana”. As I looked at that maths I was like, I can answer that question. Somehow I began to have this courage. People on the first to third roles, who were always taking first to third positions, didn’t raise their hands. So I was confused. I looked around and was like; I hope I’m not going to embarrass myself. But then I looked at it again and thought yes I can do it, so I raised my hand up.
Everybody looked at me and were like, ‘Emeka Esewu’, that was what they used to call me then, because I was born in Lagos. “Esewu thirty over thirty-one, how can you raise up your hand?” But I picked up courage, went to the board and did justice to it. The whole class broke into a blast. It was a shock to them and everybody was screaming my name, praising me. For the very first time I felt so important.
After then, I discovered what I wasn’t doing right, I was very brilliant but I lack the courage to read. I was extremely playful. I could play football till late in the night. So when I discovered myself, my whole life changed. From thirty over thirty-one to third grade student, and from then on, it has been forward ever, because I discovered myself, I discovered everything.
So two things that I discovered was that no child is born stupid and no one is born intelligent either. You need to power and empower a child, so that is what I’m trying to do, to give them back the confidence, give something back to the society, and to focus on giving them Education.
As an actor and a principal; how do you find time to act and still manage your school?
I have a qualified manager. I also have a consultant who has been in the school system before I came on board. I have qualified staffs, so I have lesser problem.
What is the importance of education in Nigeria today?
Education is real. Education is everything in the society, and education is the aspect that makes you interact with the society. Without it you feel like you are cheated, without it you feel shy in the public and in the society. Education is the necessity that every child needs. I got free education because of our leader Obafemi Awolowo. We had free education in government schools in those days. Then you hear of names like St. Paul primary school, Queens School, but now private schools have taken over.
Why secondary and not primary?
Because I feel I could work with children from those ages. They can understand my language when they are of secondary school ages. I can communicate easily with them.

Tidak ada komentar:

Posting Komentar