Insurance brokers, under the umbrella of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), have kicked off plans for a sustainable arrangement with the Lagos State government for the promotion of insurance among secondary school students in the state.
The council took this step when its team visited the State Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Folashade Adefisayo in Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos recently.
Mr. Babatunde Oguntade, the deputy president of the council regretted the slow acceptance of insurance as a subject in the curriculum of secondary schools and noted that the brokerage body required the support of the State Ministry of Education to change the narrative positively.
Oguntade, who is also the chairman of the Research and Development Committee of NCRIB observed that, against the vile beliefs about insurance, the profession was one that is open to diverse people from various educational backgrounds which eventually provides the basis for the richness of the profession.
He applauded the Lagos state government for its constant eagerness to support the move by the council to synergize efforts with the state government in fashioning a robust curriculum for insurance education that would arouse the interest of secondary school students.
Mrs. Folashade Adefisayo, the state commissioner for Education, regretted the poor acceptance of insurance generally in society despite the huge potential of the profession.
She opined that providers of insurance needed to be more proactive in stimulating the interest of the youth in the insurance subject.
Adefisayo disclosed that the comprehensive school project of the Lagos state government should be utilized by the council and the insurance industry generally to provide hands-on training for students of the peculiar schools towards making them self-reliant as against an obsession for certificates.
She admonished the industry on the need to reconsider and re-engineer as a way of making insurance a favourable option for the youth.
