The Best Way To Privatize Public Schools In Nigeria
In the spirit of democracy, capitalism, and reducing the cost of government (#fuelsubsidy)

I believe a fully privatized educational system will be best, especially in a country like Nigeria in which the government is both poor and corrupt, and therefore incapable of funding or managing public schools effectively. Critics of privatization have pointed out that when government institutions are privatized, they end up being (1) controlled by the rich friends of the government and (2) unaffordable to the common man. 

If Nigerian public schools are all privatized, they could end up being controlled by people who have no interest in education and just happen to be rich, well connected, and willing to bribe. If all schools in Nigeria are private, we could end up with a country in which only rich can afford education. And that won't be ok because we all know what happens when the masses are not educated: you have a high crime rate, religious crises, etc.

However, our public schools are in a deplorable state. A few public schools are doing relatively well, but they are not really public schools anymore, because they charge all sorts of fees. We might as well privatize them too. We could try to convince the government to pump more tax-money into the worst public schools, but that would be like pouring more water into a basket. I believe the government should be more involved in setting educational standards, making sure WAEC, NECO, and JAMB exams are free of cheating, and properly marked, etc. (instead of running schools).

However, instead of simply selling public schools to the highest bidder, I believe every public school should be turned into a limited liability company, and 1 share of that company should be given (not sold) to every adult resident of the LGA the school resides in, and every current employee of the school.

The current principal of each school should be made the CEO, and the head teachers and current PTA officials made directors of each school. This will turn public schools into for-profit organizations that have a strong incentive to keep costs low, improve educational standards and find ways to make more money with the schools' land and resources.  Public schools will no longer be an unproductive drain on our national resources.

This approach will put the schools in the hands of communities instead of just the governors' crony capitalist friends. The sense of ownership the community feels about the schools, as a result of their actual ownership, will encourage every individuals to help their schools in various ways, and to fight anyone that tries to damage the schools. If the officials the schools don't perform, they will be voted out in shareholder meetings.

Since the shares will be owned by both rich people and poor people in the community, the school is likely to pursue policies that make it possible for children of the poor to afford the privatized schools, such as academic scholarships and multiple tiers of service so rich students subsidize poor students. At the same time, they will avoid policies that can make the school go bankrupt (otherwise, the poor shareholders will get no dividends!)

There will be a healthy balance of empathy, social values, pragmatism, and capitalistic creativity and efficiency. It shouldn't be hard to try it out with a single public school to see how it turns out. We should start with schools that are currently in a very bad state, such as this one, and this one. 

What do you think about school privatization in general, and this approach specifically? What are some of the challenges you envisage? Do you have any suggestions about how to improve this, or reasons why it may work or not work?

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Thats exactly what d govt of Anambra state is trying but the Teachers union are planning to protest and occupy the state.

I don't thionk privatisation of the education sector is feasible. However, a consolidation of partnership with the private sector (like what the immediate past rector of YABATECH did) will be desirable.

I love Nigerians, Op what a beautiful idea, Only if we can grow out of backwardness and embrace development
I am tempted to say that with forums such as NL, it is such an easy task to be a SPECIAL ADVISER TO ANY GOVERNOR OR PRESIDENT because of the wonderful ideas and suggestions that abound in here.

Funkymallam:

Thats exactly what d govt of Anambra state is trying but the Teachers union are planning to protest and occupy the state.

It is a problem of TRUST ppl are usually resistant to change and this is not helped by the fact that SUCCESSIVE GOVT try so hard to be a BITCH. Let's I forget the problem of Illiteracy and exposure can really prove to be a real handful, Lets join hands and make Nigeria a toast of the world. Lets #OccupyNigeria,

Uyi Iredia: I don't think privatisation of the education sector is feasible.

Why not? What are some of the likely challenges?

Privatization? BIG HELL NO


Like seriously dude, you privatize it and more than half of the population is finished because it will remain a private venture. Education is one of the businesses of the government and as such, should be able to see through its activities. As for me, there are "no best ways" to privatize it, but rather, sanitize the entire system.

Like seriously dude, you privatize it and more than half of the population is finished

Did you read my proposal at all? The idea is to privatize schools and distribute their shares to the masses. How can half of the population be "finished by privatization" when every member of the population (including the rich, the poor, muslims, christians, professors, area boys, beggars, housewives, and youths) owns shares in the privatized schools?  Community ownership of the private schools will prevent that problem.

Seun:

Did you read my proposal at all? The idea is to privatize schools and distribute the shares to the masses. How can half of the population be "finished by privatization" when every member of the population (including the rich, the poor, muslims, christians, professors, area boys, beggars, housewives, and youths) owns shares in the privatized schools? When community ownership of the private schools will prevent that.

Wrong move ! First, majority of these masses are uneducated. The second thing to note is that it would effectively worsen the problem of education by making it out of reach to the common man thereby worsening a problem which needs be solved.

Uyi Iredia:

Wrong move ! First, majority of these masses are uneducated. The second thing to note is that it would effectively worsen the problem of education by making it out of reach to the common man thereby worsening a problem which needs be solved.

Exactly my thought!!!.

Im not an expert but quick question, how do you hope to fund the schools If the students are to pay fees, why would the school fund scholarships for poor children?

In addition, with all due respect to current principals in publoic schools, are you sure they can manage sucha business?

Seun:

Did you read my proposal at all? The idea is to privatize schools and distribute the shares to the masses. How can half of the population be "finished by privatization" when every member of the population (including the rich, the poor, muslims, christians, professors, area boys, beggars, housewives, and youths) owns shares in the privatized schools?  When community ownership of the private schools will prevent that.

Brother, I read it and that's why I said they are finished.

You want to make it like shares, do you know that the person with the highest bidder is the winner? So please let me understand this scenario. Forgive me, let me use this example

Fairfax City has 20 school including elementary, middle and high schools, the principals of that schools are CEO while Parents/Teachers are Boards. In Fairfax City, you have about 500,000 between ages 18+ (aged required by law to hold a not-for profit share), so we have 500,000 shares evenly distributed amongst these citizens. So what you're suggesting is though these schools are "for-profit", shares cannot be purchase but transferred?


If this is literally your position, then I stand that the poor is finished.

Have the inmates taken over the bloody asylum? Privatize what? Common Seun you are smarter than this, it is the business of government to give free and qualitative primary and secondary school education and even public tertiary institutions should be free to those with excellent brain power (scholarships).

But wouldn't it mean a new regime of unaffordable fees?

The government should give back all the schools it commandeered from the churches. Let's start from there.

One cannot trust those principals, we know how ''money conscious'' an average Nigerian can be, they would turn the whole system upside-down with greed.

Seun:

The Best Way To Privatize Public Schools In Nigeria
In the spirit of democracy, capitalism, and reducing the cost of government (#fuelsubsidy)

The cost of government in Nigeria is best achieved by removing redundant parastatals and officials and cutting down on habitual extravagant spending.

Seun:
I believe a fully privatized educational system will be best, especially in a country like Nigeria in which the government is both poor and corrupt, and therefore incapable of funding or managing public schools effectively. Critics of privatization have pointed out that when government institutions are privatized, they end up being (1) controlled by the rich friends of the government and (2) unaffordable to the common man.

Our government is not poor, however, I do agree it is corrupt and inefficient. Objection 2 is my favoured objection. Keep in mind that your policy might not even be practical at the kindergarten/primary level of education. It is necessary that a minimal degree of education is easily accessible to all Nigerians and directly funded by government. This is encapsulated by the objectives of UBE.

Seun:
If Nigerian public schools are all privatized, they could end up being controlled by people who have no interest in education and just happen to be rich, well connected, and willing to bribe. If all schools in Nigeria are private, we could end up with a country in which only rich can afford education. And that won't be ok because we all know what happens when the masses are not educated: you have a high crime rate, religious crises, etc.

You have just shown flaws with your position.

Seun:
However, our public schools are in a deplorable state. A few public schools are doing relatively well, but they are not really public schools anymore, because they charge all sorts of fees. We might as well privatize them too. We could try to convince the government to pump more tax-money into the worst public schools, but that would be like pouring more water into a basket. I believe the government should be more involved in setting educational standards, making sure WAEC, NECO, and JAMB exams are free of cheating, and properly marked, etc. (instead of running schools).

This shows that government will inevitably have to take the bull by the horns and tackle its inefficiency instead of lazily pushing the burden on the private sector.

Seun:
However, instead of simply selling public schools to the highest bidder, I believe every public school should be turned into a limited liability company, and 1 share of that company should be given (not sold) to every adult resident of the LGA the school resides in, and every current employee of the school.

That is not practical. If it isn't compulsory I can assure you that people wouldn't by because the education sector is a long-term investment and it practically relies on donations from liability companies. The generally-accepted premise is that people invest for quick profits.

Seun:
The current principal of each school should be made the CEO, and the head teachers and current PTA officials made directors of each school. This will turn public schools into for-profit organizations that have a strong incentive to keep costs low, improve educational standards and find ways to make more money with the schools' land and resources.  Public schools will no longer be an unproductive drain on our national resources.

Public schools are never a drain on national resources. They generally add to the effective human resource any nation has. A  better option will be to consolidate private partnership especially in the area of R& (similar to the way the immediate past rector of YABATECH did).

Seun:
This approach will put the schools in the hands of communities instead of just the governors' crony capitalist friends. The sense of ownership the community feels about the schools, as a result of their actual ownership, will encourage every individuals to help their schools in various ways, and to fight anyone that tries to damage the schools. If the officials the schools don't perform, they will be voted out in shareholder meetings.

Schools are communal by nature. That's why PTA's are present in many (but not all) educational institutions.

Seun:
Since the shares will be owned by both rich people and poor people in the community, the school is likely to pursue policies that make it possible for children of the poor to afford the privatized schools, such as academic scholarships and multiple tiers of service so rich students subsidize poor students. At the same time, they will avoid policies that can make the school go bankrupt (otherwise, the poor shareholders will get no dividends!)

I attend a private university that was built by contributions from the poor as well as the rich. A considetrable amount did not benefit from their contribution. Your proposal here is idealistic especially when I consider that schools don't make quick profit.

Seun:
There will be a healthy balance of empathy, social values, pragmatism, and capitalistic creativity and efficiency. It shouldn't be hard to try it out with a single public school to see how it turns out. We should start with schools that are currently in a very bad state, such as this one, and this one.

Seun:
What do you think about school privatization in general, and this approach specifically? What are some of the challenges you envisage? Do you have any suggestions about how to improve this, or reasons why it may work or not work?

I'll be back with suggestions  

Seun, please rectify this thread, I have problems modifying posts.

poor man pikkin will not go to school again

Nigerian public schools needs heavy funding to move them up to standard. If private hands should do it alone then we shouldn't expect affordable fees at all. Only the government can fund schools and the same time remain affordable for the masses.

Uyi Iredia:
First, majority of these masses are uneducated.

Not a problem, because most uneducated people want their children to be educated.

You want to make it like shares, do you know that the person with the highest bidder is the winner?

The idea is to give the shares to people. For free. As long as they reside in the LGA the school is situated in. There will be no auction, so the process won't favor the rich. Everybody in the LGA will get 1 share. Every teacher/staff will get 1 too. Nobody will get more than 1 share. People won't want to sell their shares because of the sense of pride that comes from being one of the owners of a school in your community. Efforts could be made to educate the poor about the importance of not selling their shares, and if they choose to, then it's their loss. As adults, they are responsible for their decisions.

The second thing to note is that it would effectively worsen the problem of education by making it out of reach to the common man thereby worsening a problem which needs be solved.

chuxyn:
poor man pikkin will not go to school again

Blackteeth:
If private hands should do it alone then we shouldn't expect affordable fees at all.

Not true. Since the school is owned by masses, majority of whom are poor, they would strongly encourage the managers of the school to implement policies that will make the school affordable to the poor, while generating more revenue for the rich.  Policies like academic scholarships for good students whose parents are poor to raise the standards of the school. Keeping costs very low, so tuition can be low. Making basic tuition almost free and making money from secondary services like excursions, foreign exams, and private one-on-one tutorials. If you own a school, and you're poor, you would want your children to attend the school, so you'll push for policies that make it possible for the poor to attend the school you own.

But unfortunately the government is both poor and unwilling.

if shares are given to poor people can they raise the needed massive capital to provide those learning facilities and other expenses involved to make the schools up to standard?

Privatization? BIG HELL NO

True. Instead of privatization then we should go back to region system. Meaning, each region will take care of their regional with what they have. is it not better?

Blackteeth:
Nigerian public schools needs heavy funding to move them up to standard. If private hands should do it alone then we shouldn't expect affordable fees at all. Only the government can fund schools and the same time remain affordable for the masses.

We can make education more affordable by making it more efficient. It's not how much you spend, but how well you spend it.  Private schools owned by poor people have a very strong incentive to look for ways to make schools more affordable for the masses.  Do you know that all the top US universities like MIT, Harvard, and Princeton are private?  Yet they provide financial assistance to most of their students, because they want to increase the general academic standard of their schools. Scholarships for good students will become commonplace if this plan is implemented, because schools will want to be able to boast of having brilliant students. They'll come up with a way to provide multiple tiers of service, e.g. economy class for the poor and first class for the rich. Very poor students will study very hard in order to win academic scholarships, middle-class students will pay for basic education while the rich will pay through their noses for advanced services like excursions. CEOs will use their brains and find a way or get sacked.

Privatisation will raise the standard but exclude so many.Even capitalist America has quality public schools.Think anew.

Privatising government schools,especially tertiary instituitions won't solve anything!What should be given ears to is the actual incentive to learn. Why should an engineering student subject himself to any level actual training to be a good engineer?And what really is in place to keep such aspiring engineer motivated?This throws a lot of challenge back to the society.Private schools are quite expensive but trust me,are not any better than most government schools because both remain in the same society!So my simple argument here is government should give real incentive to entreprenuers and also lay down infrastructure to promote industrialization,the rest would kick in.

A very good idea, but there should be a federal government need-based scholarships or grants rather than merit-based scholarships/grants because Education suppose to be ones right not an opportunity. There are some average students that wanted to go to school but won't make merit-based scholarships. Peeps like Dangote, Adenuga and so on can provide merit-based scholarships. A very good idea anyway.

As much as we're talking about standard, affordability is KEY.

Having everyone being a part of a school system means too much hands in one basket. Rather than that improving the system, it will cause more chaos than good. Using a Limited Liability Company, these people are bound to votes so how does this address the conflicts of interest?

Seun, your opinion is good, however, there are several issues that will arise, btw I asked you about my scenario and you did not answer,

A re post, could not modify earlier post.

Are we talking about primary and secondary schools here or the universities?

Universities, yes but government must continue to fund elementary schools and make them free. A better tax structure will help government achieve this, any public elementary school in any LG has to be co financed (via property tax) by those living there whether they have kids in those schools or not. The people in those LGs must be well represented on the education board that will supervised the management of those schools to keep things in order.
Free elementary school contributes immensely to the development of any nation and will help Nigeria improve.

Problem is that we always have beautiful ideas that can work but we lack the sincerity that would ensure their implementation.

The issue of attempting to attain certain standards at cheap rates don't mate.High level investments yields quality,hence the issue of affordability has to take a back seat in a standard case.On this note there are 2things to work on,one of which is our value system-education wise-and structures government try to put in place to ensure poor people can access funding; a cue can be taken from developed nations.As for the value system,we Nigerians have to sort that out ourselves-not without government help though-because one can pay so much for what is not valued.

Not Possible

It's always nice to see people at least attempt to think up new ideas but I'm afraid it's an impractical one which would make a bad situation worse. Even the highly develped countries still run schools because that is one of the primary responsibilities of any government. When you open up any aspect of education to market forces, the outcomes don't always reap any true benefits. For example in the UK, the exam boards are run by private companies and only recently it has been exposed that some of them engage in underhand practices to lure schools to sign up to them. There's now a growing call to revert to National exam boards, which is a clear indication that privatisation of the 80s hasn't really been the success it was hoped to be.

I speak as an educational professional and it's an idea that isn't going to work and we should hold government at all levels in Nigeria to provide their statutory obligations of providing free access to primary and secondary education.

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