“GAP BRIDGE UNIVERSITY IS A POSSIBILITY”SAYS TOP TEACHER

“GAP BRIDGE UNIVERSITY IS A POSSIBILITY”SAYS TOP TEACHER

BY ABDULMUMINI ADEKU

Chief Mrs Titilayo Omodolapo Odusesan is CEO at Gap Bridge Schools,Lagos,Nigeria

The Possibility of the Gap Bridge Schools Group adding a University to its bouquet of educational product was mentioned recently  at a media parley by its management .

In an interview with a cross section of the de crème  dela crème  of the Nigerian media industry in her posh looking office at Omole Phase Two In Ojodu –Berger in Lagos state, Chief Mrs Titilayo Omodolapo Odusesan Said that adding value to humanity through teaching gives her so much joy.

She said that though at the moment she wants to perfect the existing standard that they have displayed in there primary, crèche, nursery ,college and university foundation school that they have before they can think of going full blast on a university project.

Madam Odusesan who comes from a  line of teachers in her family tree affirmed that the art of imparting knowledge on other people feels her pride.

Odusesan speaks:”I recalled that my late daddy advised during his lifetime that I should take a degree in education so that I can have a lot of quality time with my children, in the past there was no money in teaching as people saw it then as a paupers job but things have since changed”

“Now everybody wants to teach ,initially I wanted to be a banker I  gave it a try but it did not work out and when my banking dream failed I came back into teaching as a profession”

“I did my Post Graduate Degree in Education so that I can be grounded in the field, initially like every aspect of human Endeavour  but the passion and hard work you put into it will eventually show off”

“Because I was in a noble profession like teaching I made up my mind that I wanted to be the best at what I was doing ,if you handle your job very well as a teacher the parents of your pupils, students will reach out to you very well”

Mrs Odusesan lamented that rather unfortunately due to the several challenges in the market place it was becoming increasingly difficult to bridge the gap in the educational sector almost immediately.

She urged parents nationwide and even beyond to step up the campaign to discipline there children as this was key into their future since they were the leaders of tomorrow.

She pointed out that the Gap Bridge Group of Schools was unique in its operations in that it lays emphasis on direct contact with its pupils and students right from cradle to full stage of blooming as an adult when they are expected to start taking key decisions in the various segments of the society they find themselves.

She explained that aside from the continuous training they add to themselves  so as to make themselves relevant in the system ,they also make it a watch word not to discriminate among there pupils and students..

Odusesan speaks:”the name Gap Bridge Schools came up when some of my friends advised me to start doing something on my own since I seems to have a magic wand for teaching children and even adults alike”

“we monitor the children from when they finish here to when they are in the university as what we do is a continuous process,our advance level program is for those who are not in the University but we have to give them a platform to do something as an idle hand is a devils workshop”

“what you learn with us is not wasted as you will still apply them in the first year of the university and more often then not taking our advance level courses usually makes the child a lot stronger”

“I worked with the British Council for close to two decades  so a I know what it entails as far as a child is concerned when it comes to preparing for examination,in the United Kingdom the Advance Level program is for two years but in Nigeria because we want money immediately we always embark upon an accelerated kind of program  and at the end the desired results are not gotten”

“we started the school with doing examinations because we wanted to be able show our track records ,in my line of work we employ certified teachers that know the syllabus pretty well,due to the time we spent in been grounded in what we do our students are all over the place like Covenant University ,abroad among other places”

The teacher turned entrepreneur insisted at  the media parley that her school was not meant for the rich like the erroneous impression been passed around but for all classes of Nigerians  as there fees were affordable.

Mrs Odusesan complained bitterly at the dearth of funds for operators in her line of trade to work as she added that this was what has hampered her expansion plans presently.

She described herself as a highly focused, passionate teacher who is seen by a lot of people as a role model hence cannot afford to joke with her job.

Mrs Odusesaen in her Fifties schooled at the Our Lady’s Girls  High School at Ile Ife, Ondo State College of Art and Science where she did her  west African Examination  Certificate[W.A.E.C],  advance Level Programs respectively.

The seasoned teacher was also at the University of Ibadan  and did a Post Graduate Diploma in Education and a Masters Degree in Education at the Lagos State University[L.A.S.U].

The Gap Bridge Schools started in October,2008 with just nine members and from then onwards it has not looked back as it has continued to grow till date.

The group is currently focusing on its  secondary school  as it wishes to be able to make a bigger impact on the society through that before venturing into any other aspect.