Ensuring Standards In Private Schools

The proliferation of privately–owned primary and post- primary educational institutions in Rivers State has remained a source of concern to stakeholders in the education sector of the economy. A key reason for that unsettling worry stems from the fact that many such schools often operate outside government’s set standards for learning.

The need to address the anomaly informed the recent sealing of two private schools in Port Harcourt, the state capital, found to be operating below acceptable standards. Officials of the state Ministry of Education, during a routine inspection of schools ordered the immediate closure of the affected schools following what they considered as unacceptable environment for learning.

The Tide endorses such measure against illegal and unapproved schools. For any educational institution to operate in the state, such school should, by law meet certain basic requirements such as availability of functional science laboratory, befitting library, recreational facilities, qualified manpower, sporting facilities, among others, conducive for effective learning.

Strangely, however, many private schools fall short of this, and operate without such basic requirements. In fact, many of them convert residential houses to schools and operate in sub- human environment without considering the concomitant health hazards such environment pose to their pupils, wards and staff.

Ironically, such school operators short-change unsuspecting members of the public through the imposition of outrageous fees and levies without corresponding rewards. Cases abound of reports by parents complaining of frustrations associated with meeting the financial obligations of their children in such schools.

The Tide, therefore, thinks that the Inspectorate Division of the state Ministry of Education should go beyond sealing just two schools initially found culpable of operating illegally, but undertake a regular and comprehensive survey of all private schools with a view to checking the excesses of all unapproved places of learning and help ensure that only those approved and indeed meet basic standards necessary for effective and conducive learning environment are allowed to operate in the state.

We recall that some time ago, the state Ministry of Education published a list of unapproved schools operating in the state. Sadly, however, many of such schools still operate till date without any proof of accreditation or licence, yet little or no sanctions are known to have been imposed on them. That act of omission must have emboldened others to open more schools.

That being so, inspection of schools at every level should be a regular one with a view to helping the public know which ones to patronise or not. In this era of economic crunch, the authorities must act right to checkmate the known tendency amongst operators of private educational institutions to cut corners and enrich themselves at the expense of the citizenry.

Happily, the state government recently took a bold step in this regard through the establishment of the Rivers State Schools Quality Assurance Agency whose primary responsibility is to monitor and supervise schools with a view to ensuring that minimum standards necessary for effective learning are not compromised.

Also, the just-concluded summit on education convoked by the state Ministry of Education went a step further by proffering sustainable solutions towards strengthening the education sector. Resolutions from the summit were quite enriching and re-assuring. It is believed that far-reaching reforms produced by the forum will help provide the necessary platform needed to re-engineer our education sector and make it more effective, ensure quality and efficiency, especially at the foundation level of our education sector.

Without doubt, the Amaechi-led administration has invested so much resources in the education sector. And with such pacesetter reforms, no effort should be spared in ensuring that standards set are not compromised for any reason.

This is because we agree that functional education is next only in importance to freedom and justice without which, neither freedom nor justice can be permanently achieved.

Therefore, education at the foundation level must be given priority because it is indeed the bedrock for societal development and advancement. Such sensitive national objective cannot and should not be left in the hands of charlatans whose stock in trade remains to exploit the citizenry for selfish aggrandisement. The time to act and correct the imbalances in the basic  education sub-sector, is now.