From: Bianca Iboma
The recent Science and Art Fair organised by the Nigerian Tulip International College(NTIC), Ogun State, can be described as a memorable experience for the students, as it gave them the platform to display their artistic, scientific and technology driven innovations works aimed at promoting a better future for the society.
The fair was tagged NTIC Scientific and Art fair… Human Advancement, exhibited amazing inventions by the students.
Visitors at the fair were so impressed after viewing some of the students technologies in science and art. The students had several fashionable designs on fabrics, infotech displays, on computer systems, water and chemical colours on paper,liquid soap production, chemical chameleon,robot made from plastic bottles, hovercraft, wireless transmitter, solar water heater, DNA extraction, electric generator, circular system, reading lamp,cultural anti fact, wood work, mathematics logic puzzles, grammar game, ATM machines and paper projects among others.
The Principal of the school Ecran Yilmaz said a total of 80 science and arts projects has been exhibited by the students.That the event is just to encouraged the students in art and science technology. “The school invited pupils from other schools so that they too can partake of the innovations and be inspired and equally do the same in future.This would make the students developed their love for science or art it depends on their passion” he said.
Yilmaz said this year’s fair has shown the innovative capabilities of the students as they keep improving on their ideas and are always ready to make impact in the society by demonstrating their witty innovations.”NTIC is doing this because they want their students to developed their concept and become great innovators of the future through this experiments and exchange of ideas.
Similarly, the fair happened to be one of the best learning experiences students can undertake and if taken seriously can be an excellent way to earn significant prizes, qualify for scholarship and distinguish a college application.It involves so much more than science itself.
Highlighting some of the benefits derived from the fair he said, it is an opportunities for students to enhance their presentation skills, also when they prepare their display boards and discuss their projects it build confidence in them.
“Active learning is not employed often enough in the classroom and its absence is seen as one of the key factors behind kids losing their interest in science and not performing to their potential. Diving into those finger paints and making a beautiful picture to hand on the wall is awesome.Arts in education help students a lot he said.
Yilmaz said NTIC at all branches unique in its priority for academic excellence and focus on morals. That they have been able to draw from Turkish and the Nigeria expertise to enhance its quality
The School Vice Principal and administrator, Mr. Olayinka Aderoju, said on the moral aspect that they do not practically, concentrate on the students academic performers alone but ensure that they are groomed with morals that can shape them to fit in the larger society.
The students use what they are taught in class and so when they apply that knowledge, they become happy and want to invent more when they see what they have do with their hands they get excited.
“We have to prepare them spiritually too so they become conscious in their heart that God almighty exist and it must reflect in their conducts. They engage in things that would make them great today and in future as NTIC is producing quality leaders that is required in any sane society.
Aderoju said they have both Christians and Muslims students in the school and ensure they all attend their various classes to worship God. The classes for muslims is strictly on Qur’an and Arabic while the Christian students have four Sunday school teachers that give the students adequate knowledge in accordance with the teachings of the Bible. All of these are done to ensure that the students at the end of the day be carried away by the pressure of waywardness that is trending in most society.”We are confident that our effort, would contribute immensely to nation building through the quality of education founded on the teachings of God” he stated.
However, the Principal, Yilmaz, appealed to the Nigerian media to assist more to publicise the scientific potentials of the students as Nigerian Tulip International Colleges of any branch in Nigeria needs industrialist to project the students idea for economic benefits to the society at large.
Narrating, how the society could benefit from the exhibitions he said, “Factories pick some of our exhibited projects, improve on them and produce them in commercial quantity and sell to the public. Moreso, the society benefits more because of the togetherness that the event which brings people of all faiths, ethnicities and genders to a meeting point where they do things together learning from one another and developing new ideas together without fight.
Like the cultural and drama presentations, the art designs all showcases the society. It is a way the society benefit because in togetherness, there is unity, community effort at development and there is peace and security,” he said.
He explained “We don’t encourage school to do business but we offer the ideas, the skills for developers such as industries and investors to come in and pick what the students have produced then developed more in commercial quantity and sell to the larger society.
“Getting industries to come in to pick the concepts can’t be done by us alone. It is the collaborative effort of you the media and us to share the information about our achievements along the line of scientific and even cultural art discoveries to the rest of the nation.
“Our part is to share the information like what we just did organising the exhibition. The media need to create more awareness so that it goes round and widely spread.
“A students in one of our branch produced a plane and it is flying. If you share this information to the rest of the society and industries come in to pick it, it will improved on it and develop the concept and produce more commercial quantity”,he noted. It will boost our economy as a nation and create jobs for the unemployed.
He added that Nigeria can be great as a technologically advanced and well industrialised country. If potentials are maximised this is when we can say, ‘Yes, we have impacted on the Nigerian society where we operate our knowledge industry,’” he said.
Yilmaz said the school had to change it name from “Nigerian -Turkish” to “Nigerian Tulip” International Colleges (NTIC), because of the crisis in Turkey and they didn’t want it to affect the academics of the students. Although the acronym “NTIC” remains the same but that the name change because we don’t want any distractions.
”A teacher from one of the schools of one the students said Miss Shalewa Oke said he would love his school to organise a science fair someday. “The whole place is colourful, the organisation is okay and the communication is okay. The event was educative. I saw several innovative craft work and I think they really tried on it. especially the production of liquid soap” she said.
Some of the students expressed delight seeing technology in display especially robotics techs that caught their fancy.
With the quality of projects exhibited at the NTIC’s science and art fair 2017, it is obvious that Nigeria possesses promising young innovators that can move the country forward if their potential are properly harnessed.