When talking about women who have carved a niche for themselves in the field of management, Chief Taiwo Tolulope Owoeye is a force to reckon with. She is the Director of School, Lead City High School, the Executive Director of College Press Limited and Lead City Micro–Finance Bank respectively. In this interview with Modupe George, she speaks on her passion for child-education, the need for school owners to have passion to impact lives, why parent/child relationship cannot be replaced, among other issues. Excerpts

You are a Microbiologist turned educationist, what brought about the switch?
HAVING bagged a degree in microbiology from the Obafemi Awolowo University, I went for my master's in Library Science due to my love for reading. After that, I worked at the Hezekiah Oluwasanmi Library at the same university as a Reference Librarian. From there, I got a job with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) as an editor. At IITA, I was involved in the production of in-house journals and monographs from the manuscript to the printing stage. After 10 years of work first as an editor and later as a coordinating editor, I resigned to work with my husband in the education sector.

And how has it been since then?
It has been quite fulfilling knowing that you are involved in the molding of lives. Though, I do not have a degree in education, yet, having gone to good schools myself, I knew what I wanted from a school. I have since then attended many courses in Education both locally and internationally including the Harvard Graduate School of Education in the US.

I also make sure that I attend at least one international educational conference annually to be abreast of latest developments in education. For example, the new catch-phrase in education is “invitational learning” whereby you are friendly with the students and you encourage them to learn. Gone are the days when you were very strict and harsh on students. You should try to find out what is stopping students from doing well. The children we are bringing up today are very exposed and competing globally, not just in Oyo State or in Nigeria. They have to go out there and take their places confidently.

How have you been able to do this?
When I return from all these courses, I meet with my teachers and intimate them with all that I have learnt. I expect them to take these to the classrooms and ensure that this is done through feedback from students and regular class audits by our heads of school. We also have an experienced consultant who comes in from time to time without notice and goes round the classes to audit teachers. In our school, the students determine who we employ as teachers. Before we employ a teacher, he or she will have to teach a class. If the students don't get on well with the teacher, he/she won't be employed no matter how good the credentials. You know sometimes  students dislike a subject just because of who teaches them.

Do you agree with the fact that education has been commercialised?
A lot goes into building a good school and the rewards may not come immediately if you do not want to cut corners. Those who are in it just for money may run out of business sooner or later. Parents are not sentimental when it comes to choosing schools for their children; they want the best they can afford and they want value for their money. As a school owner, you had better deliver or your students’ parents will withdraw their children one after the other.

There is competition among schools today towards attracting more students; how are you coping with this?
This is true, however, we have our own niche. We pride ourselves in being a listening and child-friendly school. We listen to students and we don't dismiss their complaints. We have the Students Representatives Council (SRC) that meets once in a month to discuss about the school, and you'll be surprised what they come up with. These children are very reasonable. We also excel academically and we believe education should not only take place just within the classroom walls. We create various avenues through which a child can learn. We believe that our children will come to us despite the competition and our steady growth is a testimony to this.

With your exposure, what should an ideal school look like?
An ideal school should be inviting and should be a place where learning in different forms can take place. However, no matter how beautiful or inviting your school is, you must have passion for children and they must come first! You must be willing to add value to their lives to be successful as a school. The teachers must be willing to do all they can to make a child learn. Facilities such as a good library must be in place to aid learning. Here, we encourage our children to use the library regularly. In fact, we reward those who use the library often by taking them to the Nigerian International Book Fair in Lagos every year and buy books for them because we believe children who read can go places.

Teachers too must be retrained constantly. We believe in constant exposure for our teachers, both locally and internationally.

Can you really say you are a disciplinarian or otherwise?
I will say that I am firm but not harsh.  I also like to listen to students and I believe that caning is not the first option when a child offends. Here, the only person that is allowed to cane a child if necessary is the head of the school. We don't believe that caning is the only way to correct a child. When children misbehave, we try to find out what the problem is before we think of resorting to the use of the cane. Some children respond to the cane, while some don't. For some children, when you beat them, they just shrug it off and that is the end. When this happens you have not corrected the child.  Back to your question: I will say that I am firm and I believe in discipline.

Don't you think you are going against the saying: spare the rod and spoil the child?
Not at all. Your aim is to correct the child, and the truth is that some children don't respond to caning. For some, simply threatening that you will disgrace them during morning assembly is enough to make them change. You have children from different backgrounds; some are so used to being caned that when you beat them it does not affect them.

However, everybody responds to love. Whenever we correct a child in any form, we should let the child know why he/she is being corrected.

What do you think the teacher/parent relationship should be?
These days, you can't train a child alone; there must be cooperation between parents and the school. Our school operates an open-door policy and parents can come in whenever they want. If a child misbehaves in the school, we usually report him or her to the parents.  Most children fear their parents and when they know they would be reported to their parents, they sit up quickly.  Parents must have time for their children no matter how busy they are. The children don't stay with us for 24 hours so training must continue at home. In our school, we encourage our parents to sign their children's homework diaries every day. So at least you will know if your child has homework and check that it has been done. The children cannot sign the diaries themselves; it has to be signed by the parents. We consciously include the parents in the education of their children. Then, we have open-day for parents at least once a term when the parents come to the school, check the child's work and meet with the teachers to know how their children are doing.

Who is an ideal student and what is expected of him or her?
An ideal student is one who is respectful, good natured, obedient, and fears God. He is a child who puts his best into all that he does and knows that he is unique. Let me say to every child: “don't try to be someone else; be yourself. You can have role models whom you admire but you are who you and there is no one like you.

How has it been with the home front?
My home comes first, because I'm first and foremost a wife and mother before being a worker. Now that I'm on my own, I make sure that before I leave the house in the morning, I do certain things and when I'm back in the evening, I prepare my husband's food. A woman must keep her home because that is her  first responsibility and she must find time for her husband and children because most of the ills in this society today are caused by parental neglect. Children need to be guided. You must find time to converse with them so that you can nip in the bud any wrong trait in them.

Are you saying the parent/child relationship cannot be replaced?
Yes, it cannot be replaced. You must have a relationship with your child. You must be a friend to your child. If you are your child's friend, the child can tell you anything, and before the child makes a wrong move, you will know. You must be able to observe your child to know if there are changes. If they are what you don't like, you can quickly correct him or her .The days when parents went that way and the children the other way are gone. You must be close to your children so that they can learn from you, instead of learning from outside or from the Internet.

Can you tell us who your spouse is?
My husband is Professor Babajide Akinsola Owoeye. He is the chairman of EDUSERVE Consult, which comprises Lead City University, Lead City High School, and College Press and Publishers. We have been married for almost 30 years and we are blessed with children and grandchildren.  He is a simple family man to the core. In the past, when he wasn't so busy, he used to help out in the home. He likes to have his children around him. Then, when we wanted to go out, he liked taking the children along. But I knew that when we got to such outings, they would disturb me so, I didn't encourage it often. He is a visioner and strong personality. Things don't shake him easily and I have learnt a lot from him.

He has always been there for me. There is no marriage without its ups and downs, but I thank God for seeing us through almost 30 years and I trust him to continue to keep us together as we grow old.  I like it when I see couples that are still together in their old age. My parents-in-laws are a perfect example. They have been married for close to 60 years and they still do things together. We discuss and share each others' burdens. He has been a strong force behind me.

You are a wife, mother and grandmother, how do you rest?
I usually travel when I want to rest. When I travel, I automatically tune off work, switch off my phones and I rely more on e-mails from the office, which I can read at my convenience. Thank God I have good workers, who don't need to have me around all the time.

Fashion-wise, what is your preference, English or native attires?
Initially, when I got married and for many years, I loved English attire and wore them everywhere. In fact my mother in-law would tell me “Taiwo, ibi ti a nlo yen, won ki nwo gown lo sibe o”, meaning, “Taiwo, you can't wear a gown to where we are going”. I am not much different today even though I now tend to wear Iro and buba to functions and to church on Sundays. However, I still can't see myself wearing Iro and Buba or indeed long skirt and blouse to the office on Fridays which is seen as a dress-down day. I prefer to look professional, not flamboyant, but simple and nice.