To reposition education, focus on private schools, NSSSEC tells FG

Says 70% of 28,000 senior sec schools are private

Executive Secretary, National Senior Secondary Schools Commission (NSSEC), Dr Iyela Ajayi, has urged the Federal Government to focus on private schools to reposition senior secondary education in the country.

According to him, out of the 28,000 senior secondary schools in Nigeria, private schools constitute 70 per cent.  Ajayi, who gave the hint in Minna, Niger State, while on a need assessment of senior secondary schools, expressed concern over the decay in education infrastructure.

The commission, he explained, is poised to intervene in the projects with academic contents, such as the provision of science laboratories, classrooms, libraries, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) equipment, as well as technical workshops, among others.

He further stated that the commission, which was established in April 2021, was mandated to intervene in senior secondary school education, prescribed and enforced minimum standards, especially in the area of infrastructure.

The Guardian gathered that the commission has concluded plans to upgrade 50 senior secondary schools across the country, promising that in the 2025 budget, the number will increase.

He commended Governor Umaru Bago for his plan to remodel Government Technical College, Minna, as well as his giant strides in infrastructure across the state.

The Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education in Niger, Dr Hadiza Mohammed, noted that the state government under Bago recently trained a substantial number of science teachers from public and private schools to enhance teaching and learning, especially in science-related subjects.