A United States based non-profit organization, Tilova For Africa (TFA), has stated that there is need for government to increase regulation oversight of private schools in Nigeria in view of the terrible things going on in some of them. It stated that the recent incident whereby a three-year-old child in Enugu was violently flogged by her teacher, leaving visible marks on her legs, calls for urgent action.
The group stated that operations of many of the mushroom private schools, especially at nursery and primary level, leave so much to be desired. In effect, it called for standardization of operations in private schools.
In a statement, the co-founder of TFA, Mr Martin Nwabueze, an Anambra State -born pharmacist, charged government to standardise the operations of private and community/ faith based educational institutions across Nigeria.
The TFA said this will ensure that non-state schools, including private, community and faith-based schools adhere to national standards in infrastructure, quality of teachers/teaching, curriculum contents and accountability.
The group lamented that some private schools have classroom infrastructure described metaphorically as “poultry sheds” due to their poor conditions while teachers are barely literate.
Tilova For Africa stated: “The proliferation of private schools in Nigeria’s education space is a confirmation that all is not well in the sector. All manner of people are now establishing schools in Nigeria. This should be a major source of worry for all.
“All manner of people who got money one way or another seem to have come to the conclusion that the easiest way to launder such money is to establish schools. It is also seen as one way of making easy money because you can charge anything as tuition fee and other manner of fees.
“And because non professionals are now establishing or running schools, standard of education is nose-diving in the country. People open schools in their backyard and parents will go and dump their children there in the name of sending them to school. Some of the so-called classrooms look as if they are poultry or chicken farms.
“In many instances, children from primary one to six cannot perform basic mathematical exercise because the teachers are not qualified to teach. There is also the issue of inadequacy of teachers. There is a major gap in the staffing of schools, including government owned ones.
“There is no system in place. There is no framework for operation. Some of the school operators just gather children and start telling them stories or making them sing and dance ridiculous music.
“Toilets are inadequate or in very poor conditions so they become harbingers of diarrhea and other diseases the children contract.
“In many private schools, teachers are not properly vetted. All manner of people are employed as teachers to teach nonsense. That is why some of the untrained teachers abuse children under their care. A few days ago, a teacher in a private school in Enugu flogged a three-year-old girl mercilessly, leaving visible marks on her legs.
“Education is good but it shouldn’t be at all costs. A child’s life should not be endangered in the quest to offer them education. So, government should tighten the loose ends of the regulatory mechanism.”