Recession: Private schools are suffering —Warri City College principal

Mr Leamas Igere is the principal of Warri City College, located in the heart of the ancient oil-rich city of Warri in Delta State. He speaks with EBENEZER ADUROKIYA on effects of recession on private school owners and why government should prioritise education above other sectors. Excerpts:

 

Tell us about Warri City College and how the school has been impacting lives?

The school started out in a historical way, when excellence and good education was lacking. At that time, government was making teachers to go on strike. Schools were locked and no academic activities were allowed; hence the school was established.

Government gave us the permission to charge school fees and so we were in competition with the government schools. The school fee was cheap; it was just N60. When students saw that our school was better than government’s schools, they came to our school. The school was established to correct the shortcomings of other schools; it school started 22 January, 1987.

So, since the economic recession started, what is now the state of private schools?

As the economic recession is affecting the country and it is affecting schools, even the government schools are suffering the way we are.

 

What is the population of your school before and now?

Before recession started, we have up to 1000 students, but now, the figure has gone low. We now have about 13 per cent of the average population.

 

What about the state of teachers’ salary, are they paid on time, and the state of school fees, do students also pay on time?

Students are not paying school fees regularly like before. Some of them their parents have been sacked, while some parents’ businesses are no longer doing well. During the holidays, we did something that could help the situation, we made the lessons free. Even students from other schools came to learn free-of-charges. The students enjoyed it and due to this, many parents did not withdraw their students from the school.

 

Are the teachers being paid as and when due?

We collect school fees in bits, and we are the only school in Delta State doing this.

 

There is a speculation that, to get an admission into government schools now in the state, one has to pay huge amount of money, where it used to be free. What is your take on this?

When you say something is free, you don’t charge for it. Most of the schools charge fees, but they claim they are not fees it’s, but levies. What is fee, what is levy? By the time you add those levies together, it’s like they are getting more than what is being paid for in private schools. So, we are asking the government to rise up to the situation and effect a change.

 

What about the prices of educational materials in the market, is there increase of these items?

The prices have really gone up, even the prices of pens. Nothing is cheap again and we want government to do something about this. Everybody now says dollars has increase; we all know this is true, but we need to rise up and help the country.

 

What is the relationship between parent and the school management like?

The parents still value us and we value them too. Parents likes it when we associate with them and when we allow school fees to be paid in bits, they are happy with us. They usually come to appreciate us.

 

The recession has really affected the education system in the country, what do you think should be done to arrest the situation?

Government should know that we are proud of education. Awolowo started free education many years ago, and a lot of people benefited from it.  Government should take the education sector more serious than any other. They should know that the children of today are the future of Nigeria. They should equip schools well and employ well-trained teachers.