The Nation Newspaper

Tag: National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools

  • We’ve nothing to do with collapsed school, says private school owners

    …….Commiserate with families

    Two main private school associations in Lagos State- the Association for Formidable Educational Development (AFED) and National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) – have denied associations with the school that collapsed on Massey Street, Lagos Island, Ohen Private Nursery and Primary School.

    National President AFED, the umbrella group of private schools that serve the low-income members of the society, Mr. Emmanuel Orji, told The Nation that the group had no records of the school’s membership.

    “We have tried searching for information about the school.  I don’t think it is one of our members.

    “I have called people in that area to confirm.  But if anything comes up, would let you know,” he told The Nation on phone.

    In the past, the Lagos State government had clamped down on AFED schools for not being registered or operating according to laid down rules and regulations for the establishment of schools.

    Orji said the space constraints in the densely populated area where the collapsed school was located may have limited the choice of properties available to use for schools.

    READ ALSO: Ambode orders investigation of collapsed building

    “Government has established regulations on the kind of structure schools can operate from.  We keep to government regulations.  For instance a school that is more than two stories will not be approved.

    “My members are basically in the slum areas.  Our members cannot afford to build large structures so usually they get land and start with makeshift structures.

    “The area where this incident took place has old buildings and is congested.

    “That may be the reason the proprietor may have used such building for school,” he said.

    Expressing regret about the incident, he called on school owners to prioritise safety and security when establishing schools.

    “It is unfortunate.  My heart is with those who lost their loved ones and my prayers are with them.

    “We pray this never happens again. I want to use this opportunity to say we want schools to keep to government regulations and put safety and security first when establishing schools,” he said.

    President, NAPPS Lagos State, Alhaji Wasiu Adumadeyi, said the school was not under its fold.

    He however noted he visited the site and promised greater cooperation with government.

    “No, the school is not among our members.  But as association of proprietors of private schools anything that concerns a private school, concerns us.

    “We have been there today to assess the situation and pay condolence visit.

    “We have resolved to partner with the ministry of education to ensure this never happens again in this industry,” he said.

  • Entrepreneurship bootcamp for pupils

    An initiative to help secondary school pupils embrace entrepreneurship early in life is in the works.

    The initiative tagged, Building Young Entrepreneurs (BYE) is being promoted by Black Pride Multipurpose Company to help young ones incubate ideas and run them as businesses.

    Principal Partner at Black Pride Mr Bright Oloyo said at a press conference in Lagos that the firm was partnering  the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) and other local and international organisations/individuals to take the message of entrepreneurship to the classroom.

    “This initiative is designed to steer young minds towards entrepreneurship.  It is being done in partnership with NAPPS. We intend to reach out to students in secondary schools to change their mind set.  According to statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), 60-65 per cent of graduands would be unemployed,” he said.

    Through BYE Oloyo said pupils would undergo training in various phases that would, ultimately, lead to them getting support to run their own businesses or buying shares in businesses started by young ones under the programme.

    “The first phase is designed to hold in four states and reach 1,000 secondary school pupils.  The event will be held in various locations that would feature successful entrepreneurs, captains of industry, and select celebrities to steer their minds towards entrepreneurship and good leadership. It is designed to hold across three terms in select venues,” he said.

    Beyond the seminars, Oloyo said some of the participants would progress to the second phase, which would be a coaching and mentoring programme.

    “The end result is that a large chunk of those taken into the coaching and mentoring programme will own their own businesses under our support.  Every child in the coaching and mentoring programme would eventually own stakes.  The programme is designed to last a maximum of four years,” he said.

    Oloyo said registration for BYE would begin in January and would be done through schools registered under NAPPS.  However, he said pupils from public schools would also be able to participate.

    He added that NAPPS has agreed to bear some of the cost of the programme should the programme not get full sponsorship. However, he expressed confidence about the funding prospect for the project, saying many local and international partners have lined up support for the project.

    “We have the support of a lot of persons and organisations.  The National Black Unity Newspaper, the largest minority newspaper in the United States is supporting us; Mr Bobby Umar, a seasoned TEDx speaker is coming from Canada for the seminar; Frank Allen, a renowned American author, has prepared the workbook for the programme.

    “In Nigeria, we have the support of Mr Segun Oruame, founder of Qitech; Mrs Helen Oskoya, CEO, Nobelova Gradani, a certified specialist in dealing with children with learning difficulties.

  • NAPPS teacher of the year to get N1m grant today

    A technology firm, the International Professional Tracking Limited (IPOTRAC) has pledged N1 million to National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Lagos State Chapter for its Best Teacher of the year.

    The prize, won by Mrs Latifat Odewande of Gold Finger Schools in Alimosho District during the NAPPS World Teachers Day in October, will be presented to her at the association’s yearly banquet  today.

    IPROTRAC Director, Mr Abiodun Israel-Oshodi, said the grant  is to be awarded to the best teacher to empower teachers and improve their well-being.

    He added that the firm partnered the association to improve quality of teacher-service delivery in the education sector.

    “We are focusing on improving the lot in the education sector.  Our intervention and continues flow of learning for teachers will be of huge benefits to NAPPS. One of the challenge is to give a world class training for teachers, we are ready to give such opportunities to the teachers,”Israel-Oshodi said.

    The NAPPS Lagos President, Mr Wasiu Adumadeyin, said the grant is to celebrate and encourage teachers who are sacrificing their time, energy and skills in preparing today’s children for a brighter tomorrow.

    He said that any school is as good as its teachers and empowering and celebrating their effort will propel them to do more in the interest of the students.

    “We are partnering  Iprotrac with the aim of using technology to foster education and improve the ability and welfare of our members. The new thing in the world today is technology-driven education and we intend to have a paradigm shift from the conventional education system and use technology to enhance education,” he said.

    He noted that the Lagos State government is building a smart city and the children who will live in this city must acquire smart skills from teachers.

    Mrs Odewande merged overall best teacher, following a raffle draw among best teachers in the 20 local government areas of the state.

  • Leadership crisis rocks Kano NAPPS

    THE alleged imposition of leaders on the  National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) in Kano State, has led to the birth of a parallel group – the,  Independent Schools Proprietors Association, (ISPA) Kano, by some of the aggrieved members.

    The ISPA Chairperson, Mrs Fatiman Bello, accused the NAPPS leadership of organising  a selective election by imposing the Northwest president of the Association, Hajiya Marayam Magaji, who is already overseeing seven states in the zone, as president of NAPPS Kano State chapter.

    Disturbed by the unhealthy trend of events, Mrs Bello, said some of the aggrieved members petitioned the national body of the Association in Abuja to address the anomaly, but at the close of the day, it yielded no result..

    On whether there are plans to resolve the deadlock, Mrs Bello, said ruled out the possibility of an amicable resolution to the crisis.  She showed journalists an original document of the registration of the new association with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) since August.

    ”When you come to the end of your tenure, by the rules and regulations or by the constitution of NAPPS, there is supposed be a formal election, that was when the crisis erupted. Instead of election, they came up with what we call selection, Maryam Magaji was imposed as the president, who was at the time of the election the Northwest president of NAPPS. The puzzle is, how can a Northwest president again be elected or selected to be the Kano president of the Association. That was where the problem started, as she is overseeing two offices, which is ridiculous.”

    Mrs Bello, who is the proprietor of Fatima International School in Kano, noted that all relevant agencies in the State have recognised the new association.

    Among others, she outlined the objectives of the new association to include, promotion of unity among members, provision of quality and standard education, as well as defending the rights of private school owners.

    Reacting to the claim of imposition, Hajiya Magaji, said proprietors were free to  associate with whatever group they desired, adding that whoever did not want to be a member of the association was free to leave and form his/her own.  She said that members of NAPPS were in the majority regardless of the breakaway.

    Also, she noted that the Government recognises NAPPS which duly elected her as the president.

    She claimed that a non-indigene was not eligible to be the president of the association, pointing out that, as long as all the schools were domiciled in Kano, it was proper and logical for the president of the Association to emerge from one of the 19 Northern States but not from elsewhere, as practiced in the Southeast and Southwest.