Good policy, key to functional education —Proprietor

The Chairman, Board of Governors of the Dowen College, Lekki, Lagos, Mr. Olumide Philips, says the creation of a more robust education policy is the elixir for functional and qualitative learning system.

Philips also urged the government to hinge tuition charged in the nation’s private schools on their provision of infrastructure.

He spoke on the sidelines of the school’s 17th Founder’s Day anniversary.

According to him, a good policy will make for affordable and functional learning system in the country.

Philips, who urged the government to determine tuition based on facilities in schools, said the idea would help in making quality education affordable to the people.

He said, “I don’t think it is proper to say the government should regulate fees charged by school owners. But if you go round, you will notice that some proprietors spend more in terms of infrastructure and facilities to make learning easier and attractive to children.

“We should work towards having a system where schools are graded based on available facilities. There could be five-point, four-point, three-point and two-point schools. They all will be standard schools but they will have different facilities. Then, tuitions could be regulated based on the grades of schools.”

The educationist, who described some parents’ attitude to high tuition as misplaced, noted that they should rather demand the charging of fees based on “available facilities in schools.”

Insisting on a robust learning policy, Philips explained that without it, the likelihood of accessing qualitative and affordable education in the country would be an illusion.

He added that his dream for the college was not to build an elitist institution but to give Nigeria a leading brand with regard to standard of teaching.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Keystone Bank Plc, Mr. Philip Ikeazor, who hailed the discipline in the college, enjoined its authorities to endeavour to mentor their pupils well.

Promising to be involved in the pupils’ career development, he stated that mentorship was the key to building responsible future leaders.

The bank chief, who was a guest on the occasion, also urged school administrators to put into practice the good culture of teaching and learning in their institutions.

Commending the quality of education in the college, its Principal, Mrs. Olawumi Togonu-Bickersteth, said its pupils performed well in all external examinations and competitions in the last academic session.

She added, “We shall not rest on our oars until we attain greater heights and goals even as we have adopted for this session the theme: all things are possible.”

Tweet