I have asked myself several times why it is important to keep score of success and to continuously remind myself about the “why” I do what I do. Exactly September 2010, we started our Project Management (PM) class not having an idea where it will lead us – our mission was simple – provide quality PM class at a remarkable price. Emphasis was on quality. How do I empower Nigerians with a world-class training and save them 60% of the prevailing cost of attending such trainings. I am no Father Christmas or Mother Theresa and I do not believe in Free Education either. I believe that education should be accessible and must cost the recipient something or it will be abused.
The rationale behind my belief system is that I attended a tuition-free MBA program where I witnessed first hand how the citizens of the country abused it. The program was very thorough which made most of the students drop the program half way to join another program and if the new program was difficult, they simply drop it again because it was tuition-free. International students outside Europe could not afford such luxuries despite the fact that it was tuition-free, as they have to calculate other costs that made it possible for them to attend the program. The aim of every serious educational program is to produce first-class graduates who can fully represent its ideals. This is what we set out to do.
The cost of attending a Project Management Class at the time we started did not make it accessible to career conscious individuals who were not earning over one million Naira per annum. Its one thing for education to cost you, it’s another thing for education not to be accessible because of the cost. I cannot begin to overstate the importance of such knowledge to a country like Nigeria littered with failed government projects. It is on this premise that I began the journey together with my partners – Maureen Iyasele, CEO of Jobmag and Dayo Ogunberu, a season Project Manager. We started with 25 students and have soon trained 260+ students on a bimonthly basis producing 26 PMP certified and 2 CAPM certified individuals.
Taking a reflection over this achievement, I realized that we have so much going for us – an accessible training fee; experienced and first-rated faculty; wonderful ambience; great learning environment; conducive training center; high-class meals; valuable study materials but what I hold dearly is the family we build with our graduates – we keep tabs with them till they get certified and look for avenues to either get them internship or look for permanent jobs for them. God has given us grace in this area and we will do everything we can to exploit it. We will update you as we go ahead.
However, in July 2011 class, we introduced the Part Scholarship offer to make the program accessible to those who want to attend the program but for one reason or the other are not able to foot the whole bill. Against my better judgment, my partners decided to hand twist me into a Full Scholarship Offer negating my belief that education must cost the recipient something but on hindsight, I realized that the process of getting the scholarship is a cost itself. Miss Similade Adewuyi (picture above) of the Edifice magazine, was the first beneficiary of the Full Scholarship in September, 2011 and she has this to say after the program:
“This is an eye opener for me because even though I have executed some projects before, training in this environment has really challenged me. I am going to work some more on myself.”
For those interested in our full scholarship for our November class, essay entry closes by October 15th. Please, click HERE to get more details. Have a lovely day!
