The Nation Newspaper

Tag: private schools

  • ‘80% of private schools in Nigeria do not deserve licence’

    ‘80% of private schools in Nigeria do not deserve licence’

    Eighty percent of private schools in the country do not deserve to be licensed, says Mr Ike Onyechere, the Chairman, Exam Ethics Marshal International (EEMI), an NGO.

    Onyechere said in an interview with newsmen on Monday in Abuja, that most private schools operate without adequate facilities and structures.

    According to him, such schools pose a threat to the lives of students and pupils enrolled in them.

    “Eighty percent of the private schools in this country are not supposed to be licensed as schools, based both on the place they are located, their surroundings and their safety and security environments.

    “For example, you find schools that are even near the markets and they are licensed by someone; there are some boarding schools that are near night clubs.

    “ Others are at traffic junctions where they are at risk of accidents and some located in flood-prone areas and that is dangerous.’’

    He urged parents to be security conscious when enrolling their wards in schools, adding that the location and security facilities should be considered.

    “There are a lot of security issues; one of the areas of focus is addressing it to raise the consciousness of Parent Teachers Association (PTA) that they have a serious responsibility to look into the situation of  chools their children attend.

    “ Parents should also invest in securing the schools their wards attend to prevent attack rather than spending huge amounts of money for ransom when your child is kidnapped.’’

    Onyechere also advised head teachers and principals of public schools to take the necessary measures to protect their schools and not leave everything to the government.

    He added that there was a limit to what the government could .

    He noted that some boarding schools that no perimeter fence and those with porous fence were prone to attack gunmen and other unscrupulous people with sinister motives.

  • Recession: Parents withdraw children from private schools – Diete-Spiff

    As the recession bites harder, the founder of Charles Dale Memorial International School, Port Harcourt, Chief (Mrs.) Victoria Diete-Spiff, has lamented that parents were retrieving their children from private schools because of the economic crisis in the country.

    Diete-Spiff worried that parents were now taking their children to public schools adding that private schools were facing hard times.

    Diete-Spiff, who spoke after receiving Academic Icon Award from National Association of Oduduwa Students during the 10th Anniversary of the institution, also advocated for government to give grants to private schools in the country.

    The proprietor noted that private schools were the drivers of academic excellence in a nation and that they needed encouragement.

    Diete-Spiff said, “Most schools proprietors are anticipating that the recession is going to be rough. Most parents during this recession are having problem in connection to finance. Most of them are retrieving their children.

    “Private school is the bedrock of education in Nigeria and for somebody to withdraw his ward from private school it means a lot.

    “Government should improve the standard of education in Nigeria at least by providing grants for private schools. In other countries the government gives grants to private schools but it is not done here.

    “Government should do what needs to be done. Qualitative education is necessary because that is what the country needs to development.”

  • ‘Address multiple taxation in private schools’

    Director, Everest Heights Academy, Gwagwalada Abuja, Dr Olubukola Dosunmu, has called on the Federal Government to address multiple taxation against private schools operators in the country. Dosunmu also called for strict regulations and control of private schools, as well as access to funds from financial institutions.

    She spoke at the inauguration of its Junior Secondary School arm in Abuja.

    According to her, the plan of the school is to have a university in the next few years to address certain needs in the education sector.

    Dosunmu, a pathologist, attributed the success of the school to discipline, trust in God, dedication of staff and the unflinching support of her husband who stood by her when she started operating the school from their living room 12 years ago.

    She said: “At the beginning, we had a lot of challenges, in fact around 2011 and 2013, we almost went bankrupt because of the difficulties and problems associated with running a private school. There is the problem of multiple taxation, overhead costs, teachers’ salaries, water and electricity bills, high interest rates and inability to access funds from financial institutions.

    “Education is capital intensive and people going there need the support of government, institutions and individuals. But here the support is almost zero. A lot of times I was discouraged because of the harsh environment and the fact that some parents when they are angry, use harsh words against you. Most times I would tell myself if I had remained in my Consulting Room at the teaching hospital, maybe I would not be facing this challenge.

    “But I thank God who makes it possible for me to receive support from a lot of people especially the teachers.  I am very passionate about education.

    “It is my prayer that the government would address certain areas that have to do with multiple taxation, and the need for strict regulations and control, access to funds from financial institutions and reductions in levies and taxes imposed on private schools by so many government agencies.”

    He said the institution does not compromise standard to passing exams.

    The school which was established in 2004 with four pioneering pupils, now has over 500 pupils across its day care, nursery, primary and secondary arms.

     

  • Kwara closes 10 private schools built with wooden slabs

    The Kwara Government on Friday said it had closed down 10 private schools built with wooden slabs and operating without due authorisation from the state government.

    Hajia Zainab Bello, the Director, Quality Assurance Bureau (QAB) of the Kwara Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin that the schools were unsuitable for child learning.

    Bello said that these schools were closed down due to poor infrastructure and unconducive learning environment.
    She said that the pupils could not assimilate well in an untidy environment.

    The director assured of the state’s government commitment to ensure quality education, stressing that government would continue to close illegal private schools.

    “These schools are built with wood slabs and the surrounding could not be said to be suitable for human beings, talk-less of little children.
    “The children are packed and sandwiched in the untidy classrooms demarcated with slabs.

    “There is no way any child can receive sound education in uncompleted buildings, that is why the Quality Assurance Bureau team are fishing out illegal private schools in the state”, Bello said.

    She expressed disappointment at the disobedience shown by some proprietors who went ahead with the schools in spite of several warnings from the state government.

    Bello warned school proprietors that the state government had zero tolerance for unauthorised private schools and that those found would be dealt with to serve as deterrent to others.

    The director mentioned the affected schools to include New Creation Nursery and Primary School, Adabata, Habitat Nursery and Primary School, Al- Salam Nursery and Primary School, Allahu Samad Arabic School as well as Almalik Nursery and Primary School.

    “Others schools affected are Great Success Nursery and Primary School, Isale Aluko, Aduni Success Islamic and Arabic International Model Center Ajikobi.

    Bello also listed others as Ridwanulkahi Nursery and Primary School, Isale Aluko, Alubarka Nursery and Primary School, Ajikobi and Almubashirina Nursery and Primary School, Ajikobi.

  • ‘It is worrisome that govt treats private schools as a source of IGR’

    ‘It is worrisome that govt treats private schools as a source of IGR’

    Dr. Segun Oyebolu, Director and Board of Governors member, Premier College, Ijebu-Ode, talks about his foray into education and technology, in this encounter with HANNAH OJO. 

    Are ivy schools excluded from the challenges facing the educational sector in the country? 

    This is not so because the  challenges in running a school in modern day Nigeria are indeed many. One major challenge is the dearth of good teachers. Our universities are already failing our nation. The quality of teachers graduating from these institutions nowadays leaves much to be desired. It is now fashionable in Nigeria to see graduate teachers who are unable to construct simple sentences. Inconsistent government policies are also a great disservice to education. The fact that our government now sees and treats private schools as major sources of IGR should be worrisome to right-thinking citizens. How do you enforce standards, if all you care about is taxes and fees? Public infrastructure is next to nothing and support systems are nonexistent in most situations to help private schools meet desired goals. If we don’t change our current strategy for educating our children, then we will only have ourselves to blame as we keep on producing degree-wielding but uneducated graduates.

    Being a businessman with interest in other fields, what inspired your move into the educational sector?

    I am involved in education because I strongly believe our super ivy schools are letting down our children.  These so- called ivy schools are not impacting the lives of our children in a meaningful way. The endless teaching system and excessive home assignments are choking up these kids and ultimately turning otherwise brilliant students into robots. These schools have elevated the “agberu gbeso” system that is making our children to becoming experts at passing examinations without necessarily knowing the subjects. This has very adverse effect on our kids and the future of our nation. It is one more reason that Premier College stands very distinct in the comity of ivy-league schools.

    How do you think technology education can impact the society?

    My impact on society has been chiefly focused on technology education and children and it is noteworthy to say that in the whole of Nigeria, I was the first person to present and implement a statewide computer education project for high school students as far back as 1994 when I partnered the then Ogun State University to introduce Computer Education into public secondary schools throughout the State.  This project, the first of such magnitude in Nigeria came about because of my extreme dedication to ensuring that no student graduates from our public school at the time without skills in Computer Education. This was a project that set the ball rolling in Nigeria and confirms that Public Private Initiative can indeed succeed in the Nigerian Education sector. In 2004, at the invitation of the then Ondo State Government, I returned home from Canada to implement the Ondo State Computer Education Project, a project that covered and connected over 300 public secondary schools in Ondo State. For our children to operate in the new world order and be significant players, they must be taught and be well grounded in technology education. This belief is our guiding principle at Premier College, Ijebu-Ode.

    What high moments have you  recorded in  your designation as a school owner?

    We are a school building tomorrow’s global leaders. Recently, our school came 3rd in the Roche Forte L’Afrique International Spelling Bee Competition which took place at the National University of Benin Republic that featured 27 top secondary schools from 3 West African countries (Ghana, Benin and Nigeria). Aside placing 3rd overall, we were also the best performing school of the 9 schools that represented Nigeria at the competition. On the home front, in June of this year, our school also emerged 3rd in the International Kangourou Mathematics Competition conducted all over Nigeria by the National Mathematical Centre, Abuja. Not only did we come 3rd, 3 of our students also scored above 70 percentile in the same competition – these are results I am proud off.  It shows without overburdening our students, they are excelling on their own.

    You once mentioned getting students acquitted with reading newspapers, how has this effort paid off in improving standards?

    On a weekly basis, we  give Newspapers to our kids to enable them understand what is going on around them and also improve on their English composition and comprehension. We observe reading newspapers rrhas improved our confidence in spoken and written English. My experience with Nigerian graduates’ poor grasp of English was part of what led to this early initiative. I am thankful to God that this singular effort has paid off greatly. The 2016 WAEC Result for our 5 candidate amply shows the effect of this effort as 3 of them scored A1 while the other 2 scored B2 in English Language. I am happy that a core part of our effort is already yielding fruit. Our school boarding unit operates like any normal home and not a dorm. Our House parents are genuinely passionate about the kids and their academic goals.

    They lend very good hands in the supervision of these kids ensuring they complied with school rules and overall goal of their being in school. Our cardinal goal for science education is to consistently drive the “what if” question, to open our students to new discoveries and encourage creative solutions in sciences. We also allow  intending students to sit for its entrance examination from the comfort of their home (via online channel). The CBT process takes less than 60-minute and admission decision is made within 48 hours. Also, part of ensuring this work-level skill is obtained by each of our children is making available to each of them, a personal laptop that is available for their studies and inquisition at all times. Computer Studies is our own entrepreneurial subject.

    How has partnership or association is helping your school to thrive?

    Our school is a member of the SchoolOnline project of the British Council.  We have partnership agreement with a number of schools worldwide, it is partly for this reason that about 10 of our students will be visiting London this summer. This travel experience will give them ample opportunity to see and learn firsthand the culture, heritage and way of life of the average Englishman. Those are things you can never teach correctly in a classroom no matter how hard you try.   Also, fine-tuning our curricula to compare favourably with any school curriculum anywhere in the World is a continuous exercise. We are mindful of our JSS 3 graduates who have done very  well in the state-conducted examination. These students will be part of our new internship project and we look forward to ensuring that the next three years enable them to gain tremendous edge.

  • Lagos registers 6, 083 private schools, warns defaulters

    Lagos registers 6, 083 private schools, warns defaulters

    About 6,083 private schools have been captured in the ongoing Private School registration in Lagos State.

    However, some well established schools are yet to be captured.

    The state government had began a fresh registration exercise for private schools across the six education districts on July 28 to create a central database of Private schools’ operators.

    Statistics from the exercise showed that of the schools captured in five of the six educational districts, a substantial number of the schools were still seeking government approval.

    Addressing journalists shortly after touring schools in District 1, Agege, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr. Adesina Odeyemi, lamented the low turnout of schools for the exercise before the deadline on Wednesday, saying “more school would have been captured if they had turned up earlier.”

    “After inspection, I discovered that the response had been very low since the exercise started. But with one day left, I discovered was that the turnout has started to improving.”

    Odeyemi disclosed that after the exercise about 11, 000 schools are expected to be capture in the exercise.

    A breakdown of the schools captured so far in the exercise showed that 1,587 private schools were registered in District I; 1,089 in District II; 676 in III; 431 in IV; 1038 in V; and 623 in District VI.

    Odeyemi however warned that, “At the end of this exercise, if any of the schools failed to register that implies the school owner deliberately wants to hide and does not want the government to monitor the activities in his school.  And the government will have no option than to shut the school because the registration is free.”

    He reiterated that the registration was for planning purpose, saying, “We want to have every detail of our pupils in order to monitor them for development purpose. The future of the state lies in the hands of these students. And because of this, ensuring that they get the best education is the responsibility of the state government.

    Earlier, the Director of Education Management Information System in Education District II, Mrs. Tayelolu Showemimo, had expressed concerns that that the “Big Schools” were not turning up to register.

    She noted that the district targeted about 2,000 schools considering number of schools springing up daily but only got 676.

     

  • WAEC blames private schools for lingering malpractice

    WAEC blames private schools for lingering malpractice

    •Council cancels results of candidates
    involved in 2015 Nov/Dec WASSCE

    The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has said that private schools’ registration of non-students for the West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) constitutes a hindrance to its fight against examinations’ malpractice.

    It observed that the level of examination malpractices reduced in 2015 November/December diet of the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE)compared to 2014 and 2013.

    The council has, however, cancelled the results of candidates involved in examination malpractice during the 2015 WASSCE.

    In a communiqué released after its 61st meeting of the Nigeria Examinations Committee (NEC) – the highest decision-making organ of the council- in March and signed by the council’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mr. Demianus Ojijeogu, the committee enjoined state governments to sanction erring proprietors and schools to serve as a deterrent.

    The communiqué said the meeting of the council’s NEC was held on Wednesday, March 30 and Thursday, March 31 in Lagos. It said that the committee also discussed the reports received on irregularity, special and clemency cases arising from the conduct of the 2015 May/June WASSCE.

    The communiqué said: “The committee decried the situation whereby private schools who do not have regular students register candidates for school examinations and also observed the high incidence of examination malpractice in private schools due largely to the registration of non-students for and enjoined the state governments to sanction erring proprietors and schools to serve as a deterrent.”

    The NEC approved appropriate sanctions in all established cases of malpractice, as prescribed by the rules and regulations governing the conduct of the council’s examinations.

    It approved that the results of candidates involved in proven cases, which attract Cancellation of Entire Results (CER) to be cancelled as well as results of those involved in proven cases, which attract Cancellation of Subject Results (CSR).

    The statement added that some candidates would also suffer other sanctions such as “barring them from sitting for the council’s examinations for a certain number of years while some schools will be derecognised.”

    The communiqué stressed that the decisions of the committee would be implemented immediately and the affected candidates and schools would be notified by the council.

    It said the results of candidates, who were exonerated by the committee would be released.

    For states with high cases of examination malpractice, the committee resolved that WAEC, through its state offices, would partner with the Ministries of Education in those states for thorough policing and monitoring of examination centres during the WASSCE to forestall examination fraud.

    The committee lauded WAEC and state governments for their roles in the reduced cases of malpractices during the last examination in 2015, in comparison with 2013 and 2014.

    “The committee, having observed that ‘collusion’ had the highest percentage of examination malpractice cases recorded in the 2015 WASSCE for private candidates, hailed the council for developing a software to defeat collusion by candidates in multiple choice questions in its examinations,” the statement read.

    Concerning last year’s examinations, NEC noted that the standard of the papers compared well with those of previous years.

    “With regard to the General Résumé of the Chief Examiners’ Reports on the November/ December 2015 WASSCE, the committee noted the observation by the chief examiners that the standard of the papers compared well with those of previous years. The chief examiners generally reported that the instructions were clear; questions were well-structured, straightforward and within the scope of the syllabus. They also agreed that the marking schemes were exhaustive and that marks were well distributed,” it said.

  • Private schools join race for Maltina Teachers’ Award

    Due to popular demand, Nigerian Breweries (NB) Plc, organisers of the Maltina Teacher of the Year Award, has included private school teachers in this year’s edition of the contest.

    Corporate Affairs Adviser of NB, Mr Kufre Ekanem, who made this known at a briefing, said the Maltina teacher of the year, Mrs Rose Obi, as well as popular demand by private school institutions, influenced the organisation’s decision to call for applications from across board.

    Mrs Obi, who teaches Chemistry at Federal Government Girls College, Onitsha, served as PTA teacher with the school for a decade, before her appointment was regularised by the government. She was only two years old as permanent teacher when she won the award.

    Ekanem said: “We have expanded the scope of the competition to include private school teachers this year. The winner is one of the reasons we did this. Initially, when we started, it was meant to be for all schools, but the ministry of Education appealed to us to make it exclusive to public schools, because private schools were generally considered more privileged, and we heeded their advice. But from the history of the 2015 winner, we have decided to open it to all schools.”

    Ekanem called on those who did not qualify in their previous attempt to try again. He urged them to be mindful of the rules involved in the competition, as the process would be very intense this year.

    The firm’s Human Resource Officer, Mr Peter Fatoyinbo, said the competition aims to improve education standards in the country, as well as recognise and celebrate teachers and the teaching profession.

    He said: “Teachers’ influence is always felt in all aspects of the society. Whatever we become is a direct outcome of what teachers have passed to us. Thus, schools should always provide basic training. Maltina Teacher of the Year competition always promotes excellence in teaching. We hope this effort to extend it to private schools can continue to promote teaching profession in the country.”

    Mrs Obi, in her interview with The Nation, said the competition was not a sham, adding that errors in filling the application form as well as non-membership of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) could disqualify candidates.

    “In filling the form, we are asked to fill the subjects we teach and recent awards. We are also told to fill out TRCN number to show that we are registered professionally and another important part is the teacher’s philosophy. This means, what you are doing in that classroom. My own philosophy is active learning. We are no longer in the lecture method. We create positive environment for the students to learn and participate. One of the organisers of the competition also came to the classroom to watch me teach, without prior notice,” she said.

    Mrs Obi admitted not being prepared for the fame and opportunities the award has bestowed on her.

    “I have received my N500,000 for being a state winner and N1million for being the national winner. In December, I also received the first N1million yearly grant, which is to last for the next five years. I had to postpone my trip for a training in the United Kingdom (UK) to May, for personal reasons; otherwise, my visa had been ready since April. As for the promise to build a block of classrooms in my school, I met with the school and they opted for a staff quarters and renovation of the classrooms instead, because our PTA has recently built us a block of classrooms,” she said.

  • Govt okays 114 new private schools

    Govt okays 114 new private schools

    •Warns against compromise

    Lagos State Government yesterday granted provisional approval to 114 schools which met government guidelines for operation.

    Deputy Governor Dr Idiat Adebule, who represented Governor Akinwunmi Ambode at the event in Alausa, Ikeja, said the essence of the approval was to encourage private operators to do better, thereby promoting quality education in the state.

    Congratulating the proprietors, Mrs Adebule advised them to work harder to maintain standard and attain greater heights in delivering quality education.

    The government, she warned, would not hesitate to withdraw the approval of any school found wanting.

    She said: “You should know this is just a provisional approval letter, we will not hesitate to withdraw the letter from any school that performs below standard or if any other reason suggests that the school has lost focus in its operational guidelines.’’

    According to her, Governor Ambode is concerned about quality education whether in private or public schools, urging private primary and secondary schools’ owners to focus more on quality education rather than turning the business into a money making venture.

    ‘’You should know that your end products are the future leaders of our  country, therefore we must join hands in giving them the right education that will help them to be up to the task of  nation building and we can only achieve this if we give them the right education,” Adebule said.

    Speaking on behalf of other proprietors, Mrs Jacuta Umeobi of Vintage Nursery/Primary School in Okokomaiko, said the letters would ginger them to increase their efficiency in the running of their schools.

    She said many school proprietors had waited for long for the accreditation.

  • More private schools open to the poor in Lagos

    Bridge International Academy has opened two more private schools for children of low-income earners in Lagos, bringing to a total of four schools in Nigeria.

    The schools were opened in Egan, a densely-populated township in Alimosho Local Government Area, and in Igbogbo in Ikorodu Local Government Area, last Saturday amidst fanfare.

    Dr. Shannon May, a co-founder of the academy, said the school management moved to open more schools because of increased enrollment. She said low-income parents, who wanted to give their children the best education, over-subscribed for placement in the schools opened last September.

    This was because the schools, which use international teaching standard, are highly subsidized.

    Dr May said pupils of the would be able to compete with their peers globally.

    “Bridge International Academy is established to work with parents who live in very difficult economic conditions. As they struggle to meet up with their family daily needs, it hurts on their children in terms of education. We believe every child – rich or poor – should have the best education.

    “We believe that no matter the condition of parents, whatever situation they go through should not determine the fate of their children. We want to ensure that every child has equal access to best education that can make them stand out anywhere in the world,” she said.

    May said there are plans to establish 50 of such low-income schools across the country, especially in the North, where quality education is out of the reach of the poor.  To this end, she said the academy is considering partnering with the Kaduna State government to establish a school in the state.

    Director-General, Office of Education Quality Assurance, Lagos State Ministry of Education, Mrs Ronke Soyombo, represented by Director of Planning and School Registration, Dr. Olatunde Oluremi, praised the founders of the academy for supporting the government to provide quality education to underprivileged children.

    “I implore the beneficiaries of the uncommon gesture offered by founders of Bridge International Academy to take full advantage of it by manifesting improved performances in their education,” she said.

    The Academic Manager, Abayomi Babajide said the school’s teaching method was technologically-driven to impart knowledge in the pupils based on the prevalent practice in the 21st Century.

    Praising the gesture, Egan Alafia Community Development Association (CDA) chairman, Dr. Bisi Babalola, said residents of the community were elated by the efforts to give their children qualitative education at affordable cost, noting that the gesture would lighten the burden of many low-income families living in the community.

    A parent, Mrs Adebanke Joshua, said she did not regret withdrawing her daughter, Kofoworola, from a fairly expensive school and enrolling her in the academy last year. She said her daughter’s performance gradually improved after a term.

    Two of the first set of pupils to enrol, Niniola Emmanuel (Primary 3), and Goodness Abolu (Primary 1), were given scholarship. Also, the first 100 pupils enrolled got free school uniforms and school kits.

    The academy was co-founded by May and Jay Kimmelman, and its objective is to provide qualitative education to 10 million children in slums across the world.