In line with the Organisation’s drive to fulfill its mandate of improving lives through standardisation and sensitization of the public of its functions, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) played host to the students and staff of Springtide International School on an educational tour at the Corporate Headquarters, Abuja.
In his opening remarks, the Director-General (DG) Mallam Farouk Salim, represented by Mrs. Foluso Bolaji, Director of Public Relations, welcomed and applauded the School for taking an interest in acquiring knowledge regarding the activities of the Organisation and how it affects them as citizens of Nigeria.
Mrs. Foluso Bolaji, Director, Public Relations delivering the Director General’s Welcome Address.
Mrs. Foluso Bolaji enlightened the visitors on a brief history of the Organisation, highlighting its mandate, the SON Management team, its roles, functions, and other activities ranging from Product and System Certification, Standards Elaboration, Testing, Training and Enforcement to mention a few.
In response, the representative of the management of Springtide International School thanked the DG, SON Management, and the team receiving them for the warm reception, explaining that the visit aims at learning about the activities of SON and the purchasing and consumption rights of citizens of Nigeria.
Mr. Paul Pankes, Chief Technical Officer with the Standards Development Department, explicitly educated the Students and Staff of Springtide International School on SON and all its activities as it concerns standardization and quality assurance. The visit was interactive and included a questions and answers session.
The visitors were also educated on the importance of the Management Systems Certification Department and the benefits of their school certification in line with the requirements of the Educational Organizations Management Standard ISO: 21001.
The session rounded off with a tour of the Library by the students and their teachers to appreciate the processes involved in the certification of goods and how to identify quality products through the organisation’s Conformity Assessment Programmes certification logos, such as the Standards Organisation of Nigeria Conformity Assessment Programme (SONCAP) for imported products and Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme (MANCAP) for locally manufactured products.
The Director, Public Relations, in her closing remarks, charged the students and staff of the School to go out there with the acquired knowledge and be ambassadors of Standards, making sure to report any case of substandard products to the nearest SON office or via the Organisation’s toll-free numbers as a responsibility to rid the country of substandard goods collectively.
