Lagos says ongoing private school registration no witch-hunt

Lagos State government says that the ongoing registration of private schools is not aimed at witch-hunting anybody, neither is it for revenue purposes. It insists is for planning purposes.

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Mr. Adesina Odeyemi, after a visit to five education districts, explained the state government’s interest in the growth of private schools because the government knows that the provision of education for pupils and students in the state requires a public-private partnership.

Odeyemi revealed that 6,083 private schools have registered so far, appealing to all those who have not registered to come forward as there would be consequences for failure to do so.

Proprietors at each of the centres while interacting with the permanent secretary pleaded for an extension, as many of them were either not aware, or afraid to come forward for the registration, fearing a backlash after registering.

They also want better publicity for the registration exercise, and for government to debunk the rumour that it purpose of staging the exercise were not altruistic.

Odeyemi, however, told those who have registered to spread the message through words of mouth, while government would also intensify publicity with a plan to extend the date to ensure that all private schools in the state were captured.

Staff of the education districts while briefing the permanent secretary, provided updates on the exercise; challenges being encountered in the registration process and what they felt was responsible for the average turn out.