Low-cost private schools are no breeder of low IQ

The growing number of low-income private schools, especially in Lagos, has been a source of worry to the state government, which considers them as blight on its plan to raise education standard. But development experts think differently. Department of International Development (DfID), for example, is rather encouraging the state government to support low-cost private schools. UJUNWA ATUEYI reports

They are often referred to as mushroom, illegal, unapproved or unregistered schools. Some operate in an environment that can moderately influence learning, while others are a mere contraption, operating in shanties, uncompleted or makeshift buildings.

But they all have one common goal, and that is to provide teaching and learning to the Nigerian child, particularly those from low-income homes.

They operate illegally as nursery/primary schools without any approval from the state government. They lump many pupils in classrooms, thereby making teaching and learning experience awkward. Some of the schools are located in an unhygienic environment, posing a threat to the health of the pupils. Some are staffed by incompetent teachers who hardly crave for self-development.

The proliferation of these schools in Lagos once invited the wrath of the former Lagos state governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, who declared a war on them.
In fact, low cost private schools under the umbrella body of Association for Formidable Educational Development (AFED) suffered so much neglect and adversity during Fashola administration, owing to poor standard in their operations and activities.

The then Deputy Governor, Mrs. Adebisi Sosan, who then supervised the Ministry of Education, said the decision to close down the illegal private nursery and primary schools was part of the measures to “protect the future of children who are studying under unhealthy and ramshackle environment. As a responsible government, we will clamp down on them, to clip their wings and excesses and arrest the situation.”

With government closing down some of those schools then, many children who attended the affected schools were left stranded. The move however generated reactions from different quarters, which forced government to halt the clamp down exercise.

Many wondered what would be the fate of the children in the affected schools. Does the government have enough facilities to accommodate the number of pupils yearning for education? Could children in various Lagos communities access education in existing government’s public schools? How many of these schools do we have in each local government development areas? These are the questions thrown up by the government’s decision.

The argument was that most of these low-cost schools respond to the need of the children of the underprivileged, and that if ignored could pose a threat to the society.

Observers think there is a need for government at all levels to begin to formulate policies that would enable low- income private schools to function optimally rather than banning them.

The fact that state public schools are inadequate to cater to educational needs of children in the state owing to its population is enough for government to empower low-cost schools to function effectively, many stakeholders argued.

However, with the recent intervention of Developing Effective Private Education Nigeria (DEEPEN) and concerned stakeholders, low cost private schools are beginning to gain recognition in the country as their roles and functionality are now well-defined and specified.

DEEPEN, a five-year programme funded by United Kingdom’s (UK) Department for International Development (DFID) is seeking the right incentives from the state government to enable low cost private schools improve their services.

Some of them might not be offering world-class teaching and learning, but research conducted by DEEPEN and its partner agencies shows that they are actually offering positive impact.

And so, the focus of the DEEPEN project is to facilitate a more enabling environment for private schools especially the so called unapproved schools (usually referred as ‘mushroom’ schools), and create an effective market for them to offer quality education that would ensure improved learning outcomes in private schools, particularly for children from low-income households.

Again, since the private sector is a major player in the country’s education, dominating the pre-primary and primary levels and serving children at all levels, it offers a promising education future for the country.

Speaking recently at the 2016 National Congress of AFED, the National Patron of the organisation, Prof Pat Utomi, said the future of Nigeria depends very largely on the operations of low cost private schools across the country.

He said since public schools are filled to the brim, help is needed from other areas to help these children access education and be impacted with quality education.

He also said when people are educated, they can produce their way out of poverty and all kinds of problems, but without education, their capacity to add value to the world diminishes and they therefore become a problem to the society.

“A society that does not see the importance of the kind of investment low cost private schools are making, is not a very wise one,” he said.

He urged government and all stakeholders to rise to the call and give support to low cost private schools to enable them thrive in their services for the benefit of the Nigerian child.

“But if you think, you are privilege and that you can take care of your own kids and the other kids are out there languishing. You are not wise because one day that your daughter or son who has gone to Harvard or Oxford may just come to visit you and may be gunned down by those miscreants that were neglected, who may just need N100 to buy Indian-hemp. I’m not telling a theoretical story, I have a friend it happened to. And so, government must encourage these schools, create standards that are more reasoning to meet, instead of frightening them,” he stated.

The DEEPEN’s team leader, Dr. Gboyega Ilusanya, who presented the keynote address at the congress themed, “Socio-Economic Impact of the Low Cost Education in Nigeria: The Need for More Enabling Conditions,” has also echoed the need for government to enable efficient operations rather than regulating to disable them.

He said evidence has shown that private schools that serve the low-income families have greatly emerged and are providing education of varying services across the world.
According to him, research has proved that a school might be a mushroom school and still deliver quality education.

Existing data shows that the contribution of low cost private schools has improved access to education; created employment; improved learning outcomes; as well as economic growth, he reiterated.

He recommended that government should review the regulatory framework and begin to regulate to enable rather than regulating to disable the low cost private schools; they should facilitate access to finance; as well as make information that can help all stakeholders available.

AFED National President, Mrs. Dada Ifejola, who reaffirmed that AFED is a major player in the nation’s educational development, decried incessant harassment, picketing and closing of schools without any reason by local government and some agencies