By Francis Ewherido
Many schools, especially primary and secondary schools, resumed from their long holiday this week. Tertiary institutions will follow shortly. For parents whose children are in government-owned schools, their yoke is comparatively lighter because the school bills of government-owned institutions are substantially lower than those of privately-owned institutions. Some parents are carrying yokes that are products of personal decisions. The implication is that it is also within their powers to lessen their burdens.
Some parents choose to send their children to private schools because they feel they are better run; the environment is more conducive for learning and the standard of teaching is better. Some simply send their children to private schools as a status symbol, while some do it because they want the “best” for their children. We shall come back shortly to look at primary education, secondary education and tertiary institutions. But before then the reality is that the current economy situation has worsened the economic status of many parents. Some of them will not be able to pay their children’s fees in the private schools they are attending this session. So, what should they do? Borrow to pay the fees? Who will even lend you money to pay school fees? Even if you manage to get someone to lend you, how do you repay? What happens in second term?
This is no time to compete with your neighbour or worry about what people will think. Simply take a decision that suits your current financial realities. You need your peace of mind. Make a decision based on what you can sustain on the long run because children’s education is a marathon, not a sprint. If you cannot sustain paying any school fees on the long run, please change your children’s school to what you can sustain. There is no need to raise your blood pressure and risk having a stroke because children’s school fees. Only the living, healthy and capable can continue to pay children’s fees. Commit class suicide, if you must, instead of dying.
If it is primary school and you cannot afford keeping your children in a private school any longer, look for a suitable government-owned primary school. There are some that are well run and for your information, majority of Nigeria’s future generation are in government-owned primary schools. It is not written anywhere that products from private schools will do better than those who finished from government-owned schools in future. I always emphasise on nature and nurture. “Nature refers to innate biological factors, such as genetics, while nurture refers to external factors such as upbringing, life experiences, and learning.” Both play a role in what these children will ultimately become. Science is not yet conclusive on which plays a greater role. Ultimately God plays a major role in the affairs of men. That is why He is supreme over men.
An averagely educated parent can go through the books of his/her children in government-owned primary schools and augment whatever they are taught and also help out with school assignments and the curricula. Where I have problems are parents who cannot afford high private schools fees and have no time to do homework and mentor their children. What exactly do you do with your time? If you don’t have money to put your children in private schools, you should have time to tutor and mentor them. Even those whose children are in the best schools do.
Having said that, states and local governments need to improve on the quality and learning environment in government-owned primary schools. We have classes with leaky roofs, inadequate or absence of chairs and desks, inadequate teachers, unqualified teachers, etc. In Urhobo, we have a saying that ose j’ohwo (a concubine [they are called side chicks these days] is not a wife, but she is also a woman). The children from less privileged homes deserve a reasonable level of good education. They should not be denied. The irony of our case is that many of these people who are neglecting government-owned schools went to government-owned schools. I attended government schools all the way from primary school to the university. Let us remember our days of humble beginnings.
My knowledge of secondary schools owned by government is limited, but in Lagos I noticed that there has been a continuous upgrade in the state-owned secondary schools’ infrastructure in the past 20 years now. The buildings are being renovated with additional buildings constructed. I also know teachers in government secondary schools who are good. I will gladly have them as my children’s school teachers, but my knowledge of the secondary school system in Lagos is too limited for me to make any general judgement.
These days, many secondary school students have access to internet. Internet exposes people to a whole body of knowledge. For me any well-guided or focussed student should use the internet to increase his knowledge of the subjects he/she is taking and other areas of study/interests. I keep saying it; students these days are lucky with the availability of internet. Information gathering in our time was tedious and sometimes frustrating. A mischievous student who wanted to monopolise a book, when we were in the university, could take the book from the mass communication shelf and hide it in physics shelf for as long as he wished. Other intending users would get stuck in their research projects or term papers. Internet has flung open the doors of knowledge and such selfishness is no longer possible. Today’s students have better opportunities to excel in whatever school (private or public) they attend.
Still on universities, I have been following the results of the Nigerian Law School bar exams. If we are to go by the results only, privately-owned universities have no advantage over government owned-universities in academics. Of course, there are some areas where some private universities are strong and the same applies to government-owned universities. Some universities have established a reputation in some courses, but the quality and determination of individual students also count
The only major advantage private universities have over government-owned universities is stability and certainty in the education calendar. If government puts its act together and eliminates disruption in the university calendar, government-owned universities will have also stability. Then parents without the financial capacity will not be forced to send their children to privately-owned universities. Private universities are for students whose parents have the financial muscles. Currently some parents whose children are in private universities breathe heavily everyday like people who just finished running a marathon in an effort to raise money to pay school fees.
The fees in Nigerian government-owned universities among among the lowest in the world. The fees of Federal government-owned universities are even lower than those of state-owned universities. If you cannot afford to send your child to a federal university or a university abroad, ensure he studies hard to get into a government-owned university. In addition, students should choose universities near home to reduce transportation fare and/or save money that should have gone into hostel accommodation. If you live in Lagos and Benin, for instance, choose the University of Lagos or the University Benin and spare your parents the additional cost in accommodation on campus.
