MONTESSORI IS THE PILLAR OF CHILD EDUCATION – SOYOMBO

The Director-General, Office of Education Quality Assurance, Lagos State, Mrs. Ronke Soymobo, has emphasised the need to give quality education to every Nigerian child through the Montessori teaching method. Soymobo said this at the unveiling and inaugural annual general meeting of the Foundation for Montessori Education in Nigeria, held on Saturday at Coral Hall, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Soyombo, who is also the honorary president of the foundation, said that every child, from 0-6 years, deserved  a good foundation in Montessori. “It is good to talk about secondary and tertiary education, but if we don’t get the first six years right, then we are joking. In the United Kingdom, most parents don’t mind spending their last penny on the foundation class. When you lay the foundation properly, then you can start building on it and every other thing will fall in place.

“Montessori is important, whether we like it or not, because every child is important and no two children are the same. Children need to enjoy that freedom of learning,” she said.

She called on parents to cooperate with teachers and not leave everything in the hands of the latter alone, so as to ensure continuity of what pupils learn in school. Earlier in her welcome speech, the Chairperson of the Foundation, Ms. Bimpe Pogoson, described members of the foundation as a group of like-minded individuals with some experience in Montessori education who would like to impact the lives of children living in Nigeria by using Dr Montesori’s philosophy.

Also, speaking on the vision of the foundation, Mrs. Bola Benson said the Association Montessori Internationale, the global body for Montessori education, had endorsed the United Nation’s SDG, which recognizes the right of children to quality education.