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Nigeria: Ondo - Mission to Close Mushroom Schools
Adewale Giwa
2 June 2011
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Akure — One of the problems being faced by the present administration in Ondo State in the education sector is proliferation of private nursery and primary schools. The schools which are substandard spring up on a daily basis especially in remote areas. Oftentimes, these schools are sited in unhygienic environments that is not conducive for learning.

On March 17, 2010 a group of students from Arisent Nursery and Primary school embarked on excursion to Idanre town to catch a glimpse of the popular Idanre hills. The students numbering over 20 never returned home as they perished in an auto crash. Investigations carried out after the unfortunate incident revealed that the school never registered with the state Ministry of Education.

This incident further compelled Ondo State government to take decisive action over the activities of mushroom private schools. Till date, no fewer than 30 substandard nursery and primary schools have been shut down.
To ensure that more perpetrators are discovered, the ministry set up a committee in the 18 local councils in the state to comb the interiors, where most of these schools are sited.

In some cases, the ministry went to the extent of arresting some proprietors who operate these schools. In November 2010, the state Commissioner for Education Pius Osunyikanmi ordered the immediate arrest of the proprietor of a private school, Prince of Peace Nursery and Primary School, Agalu Street, Ore, Odigbo Local Government Area of the State for operating below standard.
The commissioner, who gave the order while visiting private schools in Odigbo metropolis, also directed that the school be closed down.
Osunyikanmi said the state government was not pleased with the activities of mushroom private schools which, he noted, have reduced the quality of education in the state.
He said government would not fold its arms and allow some unscrupulous elements to jeopardize the future of innocent children.
His words: "One of the tragedies of the collapse of our public education system in the state is the resurgence and the proliferation of private schools and a number of them are one shop schools always masquerading under the name 'international' and they are usually run by people of questionable character. Others are by people without any relationship with education in the first instance.
"I have had cause to close down about eight schools in the first four weeks of my assumption of duty. There are criteria that private education operators must fulfill before they are registered to operate."
However, the proliferation of private schools is not thriving without the connivance of some Ministry of Education officials. These officials are bribed by the proprietors to overlook some of their lalog where I have one some analysis:pses.
Osunyikanmi agreed that over the years, there had been internal connivance on the part of ministry officials, some of those who give licenses without recourse to standard.

According to him, government has re-emphasized on the standard criteria that private school owners must meet before they are registered.
He added that private schools are in the excess of 1,800 and those not known to the ministry, operating illegally, are twice that number.
His words: "In other words we will be talking of 4,000 private schools in Ondo State with a population of 3.5 million, this is unacceptable because in terms of the standard, nobody can vouch for the integrity of the education that they render."
The ministry is also faced with the high rate of examination malpractices in private schools. Most of the schools are referred to as "miracle centres."
Parents are always ready to pay any amount to these miracle centres to ensure that their wards pass their results in one sitting. They pay between N40,000 to N100,000 to aid this illegal action.
Infuriated by this act, the state governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko announced the closure of over seven 'miracle centres' to stem the tide in the state. The schools were barred from conducting WAEC and NECO examinations.
The commissioner said, "the government has zero tolerance for 'miracle centres' and examination malpractices. We cannot fold our hands to allow 'miracle centres' to affect our education standard.
"It won't be business as usual, all private school owners must meet minimum standards, unemployment goes with school closure, but half baked products go with 'miracle centres' and most products of 'miracle centres' cannot cope in tertiary institutions."

[quote]

Seun:

It's a silly article. Private education is not the problem; the problem is the corruption in WAEC.

monkeyleg:

WAEC has it's part to play, but Central government must take majority of the blame. It is just like every other thing in that country. What is so wrong with setting up a regulatory body to police and govern education. A central vision whereby schools are regularly inspected before they open and while they are run. whoever applies to school license must be scrutinised by the appropraite authorities and must be seen to meet the fit and proper persons to qualify. That way the quality is somewhat checked. If a school after X amount of years of operation is deemd to be failing, it is either taken over by government or closed down. What is so funny is that the Nigerian goverment has a cordial relationship and history with the UK, why can't they seek proper advice on how to improve things

Seun:

It's a silly article. Private education is not the problem; the problem is the corruption in WAEC.

Xtfield:

The problem is neither WAEC nor the proprietors of these mushroom schools. Let me say that I am an auhtority on education in Odigbo LGA with its headquarter in Ore having taught in a public school in Ore and headed a private school in the same Local Government. The truth is that Ore is the LGA with the least number of public primary and secondary schools in South Westeern Nigeria. I stand to be cahllenged. Here is a list of public secondary schools in Ore:
1. Muslim High School, Ore
2. Community High School, Ore
That's all. And this for a town adjudged by the UN as one of the fastest growing towns in South Western Nigeria! Without any exaggeration, the population of Ore will have exceeded the Ome million mark with more than 60% being of school age. Only two secondary schools. My village where I come from in Ekiti has two secondary schools and the population cannotg be more than 5000.

As for primary schools, this is the list:
1. Beulah Baptist Primary School
2. St Mark's Primary School
3. Methodist Primary School
4. St. Paul's Primary School
5. Muslim primary School
6. CAC Primary School

Compare with my village (population less than 5000) where there are 4 primary Schools!

So why blame proprietors who come in to provide what government has failed to provide?

Xtfield:

The government of Ondo State told us Ariscent School was not approved yet it had pupils in Primary 6. This means it was not a new school. So what was the Area Education Officer doing while the school was in operation for 6 years?
I challenge anyone who cares to visit the so called mushroom private schools and see how filled they are with pupils and students. If they are substandard, how come parents are still sending their children there? The answer is simple. They do not have any alternative.

Do you know how much many of these schools pay their teachers? Graduates are paid N5000 - N12000. At least as a senior principal I was earning N8000 monthly and that was after three years! But wait, what fees do these schools charge? Primary schools charge between N800 and N2000 per month. The most expensive of them charge N5000 while most secondary schools in Ore charge below N10000 a month.

Education inspectors visit the schools just to be settled. The AEO collects commission on virtually every thing - Common entrance examination, WAEC registration, ID card production, etc etc.

Schools get approved if they can settle the Ministry officials. That is the story of Ore private schools amd there is nothing any one can do about it if Government fails to provide more public schools

Xtfield:

Ore is not a Local Government. It is the headquarter of Odigbo LGA. And Odigbo LGA is the largest in Ondo State.

Xtfield:
. The truth is that Ore is the LGA with the least number of public primary and secondary schools in South Westeern Nigeria. I stand to be cahllenged. Here is a list of public secondary schools in Ore:

Xtfield:

I have given reason why Ore needs more public schools. Ore is expanding at an alarming rate. Most people who travel through Ore just go through the expressway and do not know that the real town is off the express way. So they have no idea how big it is. How can two secondary schools meet the need of 25000 students (and this is just an estimate) 00 students

Nija4Life:

Just because the private schools you have mentioned are highly sort after does not necessarily mean they are up to standard. Like you rightly pointed out, there is a lack of alternative but in my view parents are settling for the lesser of two evils and not because private schools have suddenly become havens for educational excellence. There are some good private schools out there but I believe they are few and far between.

http://hilonah-educationthatworksfornigeria..com/

No, I never said or implied that these schools are havens of academic excellence. I only explained why they are springing up and will continue to do so. As I type this, more entrepreneurs are getting set to start new schools in Ore. My point is if Government does not want these so called mushroom schools, then let them provide alternatives. To clamp down on these schools without first providing an alternative is akin to beating a child and asking him not to cry. And to make matters worse, most of these proprietors are teachers in public schools in Ore!

[/quote][quote author=Kobojunkie link=topic=682531.msg8506270#msg8506270 date=1307904709]


Where do you get those numbers from, I mean the 25,000 figure?

Xtfield:

Do you know how many private secondary schools are in Ore? Do you know several of these schools have population en excess of 500? Believe me, I was there and still visit the place. If you doubt me, try pay a visit to Ore and see the myriad of school uniforms. Maybe you will believe me.

Xtfield:

No, I never said or implied that these schools are havens of academic excellence. I only explained why they are springing up and will continue to do so. As I type this, more entrepreneurs are getting set to start new schools in Ore. My point is if Government does not want these so called mushroom schools, then let them provide alternatives. To clamp down on these schools without first providing an alternative is akin to beating a child and asking him not to cry. And to make matters worse, most of these proprietors are teachers in public schools in Ore!

kcjazz:

The issue with this article is first the heading is totally wrong. Maybe "Scandal at Ministry of Education" will do. Private schools are always welcomed especially if the Government can't provide all however the agencies Primary and Secondary boards,NUC must do their jobs of regulating and accrediting without corruption. How do this schools end up doing WAEC? The present system allows for non-accredited schools students  to merge with accredited schools during JSCE and SSCE and that should be a crime.

Government must create an enabling environment & change our policy on teachers recruitment. One of such changes must be the issue of pension and benefit for teachers. It could be changed so that there is a general pension pool for both private and government teachers. That way you create an enabling and equal  environment for all.[b] Private schools cut corners because from Day 1 recruiting the best teachers is a problem unless you are Lumen Christi or Loyola Jesuit. Most folks prefer Government schools for benefits.[/b]There is no scandal in Private Schools if the regulating authorities can do their jobs from the start.

Xtfield:

Do you know how many private secondary schools are in Ore? Do you know several of these schools have population en excess of 500? Believe me, I was there and still visit the place. If you doubt me, try pay a visit to Ore and see the myriad of school uniforms. Maybe you will believe me.

Nija4Life:

Setting up a school is not or shouldn't be seen as an act of enterpreneurship~the access to education is a fundamental human right of every child and exploiting the failure of govt to establish what in my view I consider as many sub-standard schools shouldn't be somehow hailed as a business master-stroke. We both agree on govt's ineptitude to provide basic quality education but private education in its current state of inadequate regulation doesn't look a better alternative to me.

Kobojunkie:

I only asked the question hoping you had some official source on that. I myself am interested in researching the state of the educational system country wide, and data is what I love on this -- real data. If you have authentic sources to share, please do.

Xtfield:

Of course, I agree with you 100%. Unfortunately the present situation in many parts of Nigeria today is that people see it as a business. It's not limited to Ore or Odigbo LGA. True these schools are not better alternative, but until a better alternative is provided they remain the only alternative. If government were alive to its responsibilities, no illegal school will exist for a term before irt is closed down. I think schools which have existed for several years and found to be substandard should be taken over by Government and their proprietors compensated for the efforts in starting them in the first place. It will be unfair to them and the students who attend them to just close them without any plan for the students or pupils in them. Another point is that some of the substandard schools exist in communities where there are no public schools at all and some of them are more than 20km from Ore town.

kodewrita:

thats idealistic.

In the real world, schools can be set up as businesses as long as they are accountable to the parents. thats the whole point of having a good educational system. Good schools are supposed to survive while the state and the free market are to collude to kill off the poor ones.

Starting a school as a business is not a crime. In many cases, its even a blessing.

Properly run, people would attend public schools. no one would go to a private school. But we have to live with the situation we have now.

Besides, I am in favor of governments getting out of education and other parastatals totally. Subsidize if necessary and administer all of them on an equal basis.

Private Education is not the problem. c'est fini.

kodewrita:

Sweden.

A high number of schools there are private [b]but the government subsidizes all and monitors all[/b]ladhools. So there's no essential difference between public and private or Secular/religious schools. They will only have slight differences in some practices but the standard is usually the same. People run them profitably.

Japan.
Not only do people go to private schools for learning, they are also enrolled into high tension "cram schools", where they work afterhours and the training is highly intensive.

Finishing schools for the rich in switzerland are profit-making institutions and they have very high standards.

Same in the US. even though people attend public schools but the private schools still have the highest standards. (At university level , the Ivy League schools are private entities, not public. Harvard, MIT, Princeton and Stanford are private corporations. Verify).

Very many school-millionaires exist. Some even go as far as franchising successful schools. Search for secondary school franchise online and see how many you will find.

Those are your facts.

The UK however is a poor example. You can do better than to give us a Nanny State as an example. They even go as far as paying the jobless to stay jobless and even the rich to live in council houses. So thats not an excuse.

The government can still invest in education EVEN if it owned no schools.

Parents should be allowed to pay for better education if they feel their wards need.

BY THE WAY: The US Government owns no schools except Military Academies. Same goes for the states. The universities are usually owned by the cities in which they are based and are run as publicly owned private entities. The state only funds residents by giving them resident scholarships.