The Lotus Educational Centre (LEC) today announced the launch of its game-changing after school program. With Africa’s youth bulge increasingly becoming a concern (40 percent of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa is under 15), especially with rising unemployment rates in some of the continent’s growing economies, the World Bank has identified adequate education and skills training as factors that may determine the future of the continent.
With this principle in mind, the LEC has committed to providing an after school enrichment program that enhances children’s academic performance and supports children of all ages to become independent thinkers by giving them the tools they need to encourage initiative, creativity, and social skills.
The African youth bulge can become a demographic dividend or a demographic threat for the continent’s economic growth. Analysts report that about 60 percent of the unemployed in Ghana can be found in the 15-24 years age group. This makes Ghana’s youth unemployment rate one of the highest in the world.
According to the Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment, one of the causes of youth unemployment in Ghana is the gap in the education system that highlights numerous disparities. The LEC aims to address this gap by supporting children’s development from a young age, emphasising and building on skills that the school system overlooks or does not have the resources to prioritise.
‘We invest in Ghana’s greatest resources – our human capital, especially our youth. By encouraging children to develop creative and collaborative ways to overcome everyday challenges, we are contributing to building independent minds; self-thinkers who will be fully equipped to leading our country in the future,’ explained Mrs Akua Tutu, LEC founder and a teacher with over 40 years of experience.
The LEC focuses on numeracy, literacy, and the sciences, in addition to cultivating a love for reading in a fun environment. The centre recognizes children’s learning capacity and meets them at their academic level, with the aim of making each child aware of their infinite potential.
The centre’s after school program reinforces what is learnt in the classroom and enhances children’s knowledge on courses for the next academic year; importance is placed on academics since this is a key performance indicator in schools. During the six-week summer day camps, once every week, professional from various fields are invited to provide children with knowledge on their occupations. Children also visit different work environments once a week to learn about career opportunities.
The centre has experienced a high success rate with current students. An eleven year old who was tutored at the centre recently took a UK school entrance exam for thirteen year olds and scored in the 90th percentile.
He received admission to his school of choice and is currently placed ahead of his age mates. A ten year old took a Math Olympiad for eleven-year-olds; she was selected among the top fifteen children out of five hundred applicants and is currently moving onto the next selection stage for the competition. Applications to the LEC are currently open.
About Lotus Educational Centre
The Lotus Educational Centre is a Ghana-based non-profit organization founded in 2012, focusing on providing children with educational resources and academic enrichment programs and services. The Centre is open every day throughout the year except on Sundays.
From Monday to Friday the Centre is open from 12pm to 6.30pm and on Saturdays and holidays from 9am to 11am. Currently a few children are home schooling at the Centre and some are being assisted to write entrance exams to boarding schools in Ghana
This article has 0 comment, leave your comment.