Private Secondary Schools: The Bedrock Of Fallen Standard Of Education In Nigeria

Until the government decides to come up with anthe world where children take decisions on what
effective monitoring team on private secondary schoolschool to be registered for SSCE and JAMB. The
institutions in Nigeria, things will surely remain bad foryardstick for determining the best of schools and a
that sector in the country. However, I doubt if this canparticular one to pass through is that institution where
be effectively achieved since the wives of seniorstudents are encouraged to involve in examination
political office holders and aides are the proprietressesmalpractice. Interestingly, evidences now abound on
of the private secondary schools in the country thusproprietors/proprietresses purchasing SSCE and
relegating the public owned schools to the backgroundJAMB forms for their student-candidates at high costs
in what has become a shame for the country. Owingand filling them in for the purpose of obtaining 9 As.
a private school has become one of the easiestOur students have become thoroughly lazy and
money-spinning ventures for retried political officestandard of education in the country have fallen very
holders who charge unfeasible and unobtainable fees.drastically. Morality has also eroded our society
Examination malpractice begins in private secondarybecause the drift among parents now is that children
schools and ends on the desk of proprietorsare forbidden from caning by teachers. Teachers are
proprietresses who in bids to convince and attractthus left powerful and made to become objects of
parent-customers organize frauds in the institution usingmolestations and derision by bully students who
teachers for reaching out to examination boards.capitalize on their hopelessness. These students only
There is therefore no doubt that a student gets hold ofgrow to become gangsters in what is infamously
examination papers days before such papers areknown in the country's dictionary as "cultism". That
written. This has on many occasions developed tochildren should no longer be caned in private primary
sourness in teachers and proprietors/proprietressesand secondary institutions is now a new development
relationship. On different occasions, complaints arefast eroding discipline from the behaviours of children. It
received from true born-again teachers whois ironical that parents who were caned at schools
sometimes refuse to connive in this show of shame.now forbid their children from receiving same
That school owners are desperately determined todisciplinary measures in an African society. The role of
see that their students score above 100% in finalthe government towards monitoring private schools in
school exams through fraudulent means is athe country has not been quite effective if ever it must
necessary task for school owners. What they hope tobe argued that it is in force. Government neglects this
achieve in this sad game is win more customers whobedrock sector of the economy and only complains on
look upon such schools as institutions where studentsthe increase of armed robbery and other societal
never fail in examinations. More students definitelycrimes. When private institutions are never monitored,
mean more money for the school owners. Worse still,when education is entirely left in the hands of private
teachers in such institutions are poorly paid to thegreedy individuals with the aim of making money, the
extent that they have no option but live on parents.society is gradually being shaped towards a society full
School owners never want to contribute towards theof crimes. When government fails to check the
development of educational institutions or just how canqualifications of teachers or do not set up agencies to
one find justification on private schools that studentsentertain matters of complaints from the perceived
pay high school fees, with teachers lowly paid, still,private vanguards of education, when government
Parents Teachers Association are the architect of thefeels tired listening to matters of educational interest,
running of such institutions. IN this case, the parents atsuch a government is muffling the human order and
all cost expect that their children pass WAEC andwoes shall betide such a government and its people.
JAMB by every means. Nigerian parents are living in