Nigerian Concord Newspaper
The Lagos State Office of Transformation, Creativity and Innovation (OTCI) has organised its annual advocacy programme titled: “Moving From A Fixed To A Growth Mindset’ for Teachers in the State Civil Sevice, with a charge to participants to develop a growth mindset so that they can improve their skills.
In her address at the event, the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM), Princess Olubusola Abidagun described the training as apt, adding that it is always ideal to train and retrain the teachers to improve their knowledge and guide their students appropriately.
She said: “Teaching is the noblest profession because the Professors, Doctors and everyone else are products of teachers. So we need to get it right with them by changing their mindset about caring for our pupils from cradle to tertiary institution for a brighter future”.
“Our teachers should have diverse ideas, they should be versatile, vibrant, and tech-savvy because it is what they know that they cascade to their pupils, then we will be on our way to realise the Greater Lagos Rising vision”, Abidagun added.
Earlier, the Director-General, Office of Transformation, Creativity and Innovation (OTCI), Mrs. Toyin Anjous-Ademuyiwa said the training is in line with the determination of the State Government to sensitise all State Public Servants on moving from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset that would enable them to think differently and have different expectations.
She said this will enable them to see how the world sees them and how they see themselves, and more importantly how they add value to the present administration’s agenda.
According to her, the Office of Transformation, Creativity and Innovation and Office of the Head of Service is committed to training 3000 teachers annually, saying “The programme was started last year with 1500 teachers, and this year we intend to train 3000 teachers”.
She noted that the State Government plans to train 15000 Public Servants collectively in a year to inculcate the culture of creativity and innovation in them, adding that if they don’t have the right mindset they cannot embrace innovation.
“When you have a leader like our Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu that has a creative and innovative mind, it means all of us need to follow suit.
This includes the exco members, Permanent Secretaries, Directors and other staff down the line to embrace innovation that will ultimately put us on the map. It must be noted that the journey on the growth mindset has gotten a lot of attention since it started in 2018”, Anjous-Ademuyiwa averred.
Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Scholarship Board, AbdulRahman Lekki, one of the facilitators at the event, said the programme was designed to help public servants nurture the mind of creativity and innovation. According to him, having a growth mindset will ensure a paradigm shift in their thinking.
He words: “We realised that for us to help our public servants, most importantly teachers, to become great innovators and creatives, then we need to help them make a paradigm shift from who they think they are to who they should really be. This means helping them to have an informed mindset’.
“Human beings are largely a product of their past, history and belief system. Sometimes, we have to intelligently query these to free ourselves from them, because they are most times shadows which tie us down. But we need to be free from these shadows/shackles to progress. The progress will, however, come when we have a growth mindset. The benefits are many but, ultimately, it will set us on the path of continuous improvement – for ourselves, our communities, and the world at large”, Lekki stated.