JULY 18, 2014
Owner of Nickdel College and Margaret Claire Comprehensive College for Girls, both in Ibadan, Oyo State, Mrs. Modupe Adeleke, has warned that Nigeria risks another plunge in education standard if approvals given by state governments are not properly regulated.
Adeleke, who spoke at the valedictory and prize giving ceremony for pupils of both schools in Ibadan, said issuing of approval to private schools that did not meet the standard, was a trend that must be addressed quickly if the nation was serious about addressing fallen standard in the education sector.
“Nickdel was the first private school to get approval of the Oyo State Government after a thorough process. At the time, the criteria to satisfy were strict and a panel was in place to ensure the owner was not going to exploit people with low quality facility. Today, there are schools everywhere that offer very poor quality education. We have schools established in residential buildings. You will wonder how the approval was issued and who authorised it.
“The owners are after what they can get and not what they can give. The teachers are poorly paid and at most times, they are secondary school leavers with poor result. What kind of education can such schools offer pupils? The rules are still there but they are no longer obeyed. We can argue that we are providing better alternative after the collapse of public schools but some private schools are managed by illiterates.
“Government must begin to enforce the rule and regulate private school establishment strictly so that quality education will be given to the children,” said Adeleke, who also frowned on the lack of government support for investors in education sector.
“Some companies get tax holidays and other supports from the government but private school owners get no encouragement, even though we are doing great work in reviving the education sector,” said Adekeke, whose group of schools has grown to eight in Oyo and Lagos states in the last 16 years.
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