When you ask quite a number of parents in Nigeria to choose between a private and public school for their kids, most likely everyone would mention one of the big private schools in the country, almost every parent I know enrolled their ward in private school because according to them the government schools don’t have what it takes to groom and nurture a child to attain greater heights, siting hooliganism in most government schools, no adequate Care and attention from teachers, no good amenities, nothing seems to be working in the government schools, so you then ask yourself what happens to the future of those children who graduated from the government school.
Most of us who were born about 30 to 40 years ago were products of the government schools and we are doing virtually well today.
What then can be done to improve the state of the public schools in Nigeria because whether we like it or not everyone cannot have the privilege of attending private schools, for starters the government need to up their game by pumping enough funds into the educational system to help the children of the common man and apart from that trust me if the government schools have good and qualified teachers, good structures, extra curriculum activities and can pay teachers well and as at when due then even the private schools will soon be out of business because then most people would allow their children attend a government school.
The fear of a child becoming a drug addict or a cultist because of lack of care is what makes parents run away from public school, it is a huge scare that the government schools are being renegaded to the back and seen as a last option where parents only allow their children to attend because of lack of funds, I remember the days of Jakande schools where children got adequate care, free textbooks and even lunch, all that is a thing of the past now as students get chased home for not paying as little as five hundred naira exam fee, the situation is really worrisome as the future of the child of the common man is being toyed with. What then is the way forward to rebuild and restructure the Nigerian educational system.
