Nigerians are increasingly choosing private schools because they are dissatisfied with the government-funded system. Yet, not everything on offer is of a high caliber. Olufemi Olajide is accustomed to devoting about 80% of his income on paying for the education of his three children. In a public school “when 100 or more students fill up a class and only one instructor is assigned to them.” His main concern is how to continue funding the education of his children after losing his work due to the present economic crisis.
Olajide claims he attended public schools and comes from an upper middle class family. Public schools were in better shape back then than they are now, and private schools had not yet gained popularity. His decline in confidence in Nigeria’s public education system is neither unusual nor brand-new. Most people concur that it is underfunded and poorly managed. Structures typically exhibit a significant need for investment. The majority of Nigerians today consider paying for private schooling to be an investment in the future of their kids. Many people are willing to invest a sizable portion of their income. Some parents favor faith-based schools due to religious considerations.
Families spend to send their children to the best schools.
Primary education is required and free in Nigeria, per the law. But, according to experts, just 60% of kids between the ages of six and eleven attend elementary schools on a regular basis. In the academic year 2018 to 2019, there were around 117,000 primary schools in the nation, 62,000 of which were state-owned and 55,000 of which were private. Private schools appeared to be springing up all over Nigeria before the outbreak. Yet, during Covid-19 lockdowns many of them permanently shut down once more. Others are still having trouble recovering due to a lack of resources. Private education is also resuming, and business activity has started to pick up again.
There are a variety of affordable schools available that serve various demographics. The standards of the pricey institutions that wealthy people rely on are plainly much higher than those of the private schools that impoverished families can afford. The better ones have adequate staffing and equipment. They have modern libraries, sports facilities, swimming pools, and science labs. They provide classes in a wide range of topics, such as music, art, and information technology. The student to teacher ratio is also more favorable.
High academic performance is typical of trait of private schools.
Adunola Adebote is an educator who has experience working in both public and private schools as a teacher, counsellor, and director. Because kids are encouraged to participate in competitions, she claims that good private schools tend to have pupils with great academic achievements. For exceptional students, scholarships become available. Furthermore, many forms of skill development foster children’s growth. They held online classes throughout the pandemic, with wealthy pupils having access to the necessary IT equipment.
Her experience shows that it’s important for parents to have a say in what their children do in school. As she puts it, “enrolling your child in a private school makes you a partner in advancement.” Also welcomed are safety precautions like security guards at the school gates. Some schools do, however, have exorbitant tuition. Otherwise, they would be unable to achieve their objectives. Commonly, not just public schools lack the financial capabilities. Many private schools also practice this. In fact, some creative people have converted run-down or unfinished structures into affordable private schools. There are frequently untrained amateurs working as teachers.
Many public schools can not compete with privatized options for education.
Some state governments have threatened to close schools that are not registered, do not adhere to official curricula, disrespect safety regulations, or flout other social norms since the quality of education can be so poor. Yet, these institutions are frequently preferred by parents over public ones. Self-help schools that don’t capitalize on parents’ worry have started in deprived neighborhoods to some extent. They definitely cannot compete with costly private schools. The growth of inadequate public schools is a big issue in Adebote’s eyes. She believes that the government must control schools and enhance education. Several decision-makers concur with her. Lagos State’s legislative body recently urged that before approving a private school, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu must check that it meets basic standards.
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There is no faith in government-run schools – Nigerians have little to no hope in schools run solely by the government. – Express your point of view.
This is just a mere perception of the majority. Nowadays, government have been striving really hard to hightheen the level and standard of government run school and am sure that they are now competing with the level of private schools including infrastructure and quality work force.
The government do not have time for these school very well. This is why they really fail st managing these schools. I just hope the government can begin to change their attitude towards this.
It is very key to know the importance of education. I pray for more people like Olajide, who are devoted and with confidence believes our public school system can be revived through personal investments; in a way to open eye of the gov’t in that area.
Since the government are not managing the school well necessary things is not done there equipment anf qualify teacher are not available in school they call government school so people will not have hope because it as if the government don’t have time for the school so people will prefer private school who will manage the school well and sound
There is no faith in government-run schools. Schools in Nigeria is not up-to standard due to failed government. Government children are not even schooling in Nigeria.
It is true that most Nigerians don’t have faith in school solely run by the government because they are not up to standard. They are lacking in various ways: the number of students per class runs from 100 to 200 to be handled by a teacher, the teacher’s attitude towards work, underfunding etc.
The collapse of education system in the country started when federal government takes over all the school under the missionaries and said government will continue to manage them.But it is very unfortunate that things went from bad to worst.
The government has been making great strides in recent years to improve the quality of publicly funded educational institutions, and I have no doubt that they can now hold their own against private schools in terms of facilities and teaching faculty.
The government just cannot devote sufficient resources to these institutions of higher learning. Because of this, they are unable to effectively oversee these institutions. In any case, I’m crossing my fingers that the government’s attitude will start to shift in this direction.
As the government is not managing the school well, equipment and qualified teachers are not available in government schools, thus people will prefer private schools that will manage the school well and soundly.
Because many Nigerians are unhappy with the education provided by the state-run schools, an increasing number of their children are enrolling in private institutions.
When there are more than one hundred kids enrolled in a public school class but only one teacher, the class is considered “overcrowded.”
After he was laid off owing to the current state of the economy, their primary concern is how they will continue to provide financial support for the schooling of his children.
We are all aware that the condition of public schools was much stronger in the past than it is at the present time, and the popularity of private schools had not yet reached its current level.
Many of them went back into permanent shutdown during the Covid-19 lockdowns, while others are currently having problems recovering owing to a lack of resources.
The great bulk of Nigerians living in today’s society view sending their children to private schools as an investment in their children’s futures.
They held online classes all during the epidemic, with rich kids having access to the necessary IT equipment. These classes are beneficial to children’s development in a variety of ways, including:
I have no doubt that public schools can now compete with private schools on the basis of facilities and faculty because the government has been working hard to raise the caliber of these institutions in recent years.
Government officials don’t give these schools any attention. They actually struggle to manage these schools because of this. I only hope that the government can start to modify its stance on this.
I don’t have faith in government run schools because they are poorly funded, too many students in the class: can they learn in such condition, the attitudes of teachers towards teaching is bad and should be checked.