I always push my students because their success is our success – Mr Ola Tutors

Tutorial centers in Lagos are excellent choices for students seeking academic support and success. They provide a conducive environment for learning and offer various extracurricular activities to help students develop, holistically. With highly qualified teachers and modern teaching facilities, tutorial centers in Lagos are sure to help students achieve their academic goals. In Lagos, tutorial centers cater to students preparing for various examinations such as WAEC, NECO, JAMB, and post-UTME, among others. They also offer to coach for international examinations such as SAT, IELTS, TOEFL, Checkpoint and Cambridge English. These tutorial centers employ qualified and experienced teachers who are dedicated to helping their students succeed. This is why Edugist has decided to profile tutorial centres in Lagos by telling their stories, contributions, and the solutions provided towards making education better.

Meet Mr Ola Tutors?

Apart from academic coaching, Mr Ola Tutors tutorial center in Lagos offers extracurricular activities such as sports, music, and arts to help students develop their talents and skills. They also organise seminars and workshops to provide students with practical knowledge and real-world experiences. This makes Mr Ola Tutors different from the park.

Started in 2018 as a continuing education centre dedicated to instilling good morals and academic excellence in students. Mr Ola Tutors is the brainchild of Ola Emmanuel Odufunwa, a graduate of physics at the first and second-degree level, now pursuing his PhD at the University of Lagos, a registered tutorial centre located in the suburb of Lagos, Ago Palace Way,Okota.

Who is the brain behind Ola Tutors?

Wow! Let me say; It all started in my secondary school days. I like teaching and God gave me a platform for teaching when I was coordinating a tutorial centre. What I love most especially is talking, relating, and teaching the young generation. It all started in 2018.

What influenced the location of the Tutorial?

When I started I didn’t even know how this is because it was someone that I didn’t know that gave me the money to start. He just asked me if I wanted to have my tutorial and I said yes and he dashed me the money.

I was working at a tutorial centre and everyone already knew the name, Mr Ola. It was more like a household name and then I decided to make use of it, and that was what led to Mr Ola Tutors. Also, let me add that where I started was around ago, Okota, Lagos, and I must confess it is the area everyone knows me already and considering the popularity and all that influenced my decision. And I know Ago to some extent and that’s what influenced my decision.

What’s the purpose of Mr Ola Tutors?

Our goal is to raise morally upright students who are not only sound morally but academically excellent. This I believe is what stands us out in Lagos. There is no other purpose than to help students pass whatever exams that brings them here and beyond that morality is first and next is academics.

What is the level of input and output from the business?

I always push my students because their success is our success, I set a high standard for the Jamb students, I want them to score 320 and I make everything that will enhance their success available. As I said, when I started I was given the money I used to start free of charge. My output is my students and I can say we have over 1000 students in various polytechnics and universities.

What are the challenges of this sector and how can they be solved?

The challenges are enormous and it starts with the teachers. Students go to school today without having the common sense to apply what they have learnt in school and so in the long run, this is because teachers don’t teach well and they (students) hated the subject and hated the teachers. The public schools are jam-packed and rich parents prefer to take their children to public schools, also not enough funding and there is a lack of expertise and professionalism. Some teachers today are doing the job because of no money and teachers are underpaid.

There is not enough funding for education, and even most teachers in this education business are frustrated. That’s why you see someone who studied engineering teaching at the end of the day teaching mathematics and physics and some who studied mass communication teaching English language and literature. No jobs are the reason why some of them move into business and a lot of them don’t teach well.

Solutions?

The government doesn’t pay teachers well and the government needs to invest in education by putting more funding into the system. Imagine paying teachers 40,000 naira. Go to Asia and India, most of the innovations and inventions that you see are from universities. If the government can put more money into primary, secondary and tertiary education then we can have a positive change.

JAMB, WAEC and other exam bodies, what would you love them to do differently?

The Jamb registrar at first feels that every tutorial does jamb runs and you see all these students when they come from their secondary schools, private and public, they don’t always know anything, I ask many of them basic questions and realise they don’t know the answers. Jamb as a body doesn’t have trust in tutorial centres. So the Jamb registrar doesn’t like tutorials at all. You see these students when you ask them about the smallest topic they don’t know.

On computer-based testing (CBT), I must commend Jamb, CBT has curbed examination malpractice but there are challenges with the process, the biometrics, failure of server and system errors are many of the issues that should be addressed. Students encounter various challenges during their exams and these issues lead to failure. Some of them come to say; there is a system failure and then they ask them to come back and their zeal reduces. Some have challenges. Some of these issues aren’t addressed.

Timing is not being considered for students. JAMB doesn’t give the students enough time to prepare. They just want to organise the exams and make money for the federal government. The essence should be to prepare the students and most times I don’t see this.

Are you saying JAMB is only making money for the Federal Government?

I would say that because apart from that they conduct exams to take students to a higher level. But apart from that they don’t consider timing and there is a lot of lagging behind there are issues in the system like the ASUU strike and most times schools don’t get to finish the academic calendar on time because they all want to meet up with the JAMB admission process. They all need to sit and have a round table discussion to address all these issues.

Jamb is not also putting into consideration what is happening in our universities and most of the time all that they do is conduct the exam in April or May and they rush the registration process. This process also affects the school as they always want to meet up most of the time. I feel Jamb and other universities need to have a round table discussion so that some of these issues are solved. Even when schools are still giving admission, the Jamb is organising other exams without considering the educational issues and all other delays. The timing is not always enough. They don’t know anything. You see this gap tutorials are filling is much.

What are you doing differently?

Laugh. Everyone asks me this question every time. Our motto is academics and morals. What we tackle here are their morals and academics and we work strictly with timetables and we get the best hands of teachers to teach the students.

Our discipline level is very high and we don’t condone any form of undisciplined attitude. We treat all these issues with the utmost attention and I introduce the police when necessary. The way we behave in this environment is exceptional. We don’t take the rubbish and our teachers have high moral standards. We hear parents saying they were referred and once they come I ask them if they can fit into our standards. And it had been great all along.

Teachers and students are the lifeblood of any educational institution, how do you get them?

We get our teachers based on high-level recommendation and their course of study and most of our teachers don’t teach in secondary schools because they can’t pay them. We have teachers who teach what they studied. We have two physics teachers, two mathematics teachers, and three English teachers.

Statistics of the students and what’s the average number yearly?

Our statistical value is that we have morning and evening sessions, morning sessions are roughly 260 and evening we have over 60 students. Our morning session is doing fine and the continuity spreads to the evening sessions.

Do you have plans for the students after their examination?

Apart from academic activities what other things are you doing? I motivate my students and I must confess we have a cordial relationship with all of them. We connect a lot and we have a platform where we communicate and chat.

I speak to almost 50 per cent of them. We take our morals seriously. We take education to them everywhere because education is life and our moral level is top notch making us different from all of them. I want to maintain a good name and I keep all my students on their moral toes because I want a good name.

Where do you see Ola Tutor in the future? 

Well, nothing short of greatness is all that I desire. In the future, by God’s grace, we will become a household name in this education space. My teachers will be very successful and Mr Ola Tutors will be a point of reference for educational and tutorial centers in Nigeria. We also look forward to having our building and various branches across the country. Our products also, I mean our students will be very successful and they will be leaders in their chosen professions. A moral reference and the best place to learn.