Teachers Decry FCTA’s Plan To Shut Down Private Schools

Teachers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have decried plans by the FCTA to shutdown private schools which they listed as sub-standard and lacking in basic amenities for learning.

Recall that the administration through its education secretariat recently published the names of over 100 schools that are due for immediate closure for their inability to meet up with the required standards.

The policy and implementation department of the secretariat listed lack of due registration, standard structures and school playing fields among others as reasons for the move.

A teacher in a suburb of the FCT, Dutse-Alhaji, Idoko Mark, said that 10 private schools were affected by the exercise and described the development as unfortunate, adding that it was a threat to meeting the educational needs of people as the few public schools in the territory lack the capacity to accommodate the upsurge of pupils in the rural communities should the ‘close down’ directive be enforced.

He said, “we only have one small public primary school in the community, Local Education Authority (LEA) Dutse-Alhaji, but government is trying to close about 10 private schools. Now, if they succeed in shutting down the school will the LEA accommodate hundreds of students that will be displaced by the decision.”

Another teacher, Innocent Nnamani, berated the FCTA for its inability to create additional schools despite the population explosion in the city, saying it would only encourage the springing up of ‘mushroom schools.’

According to him, “It is only few people that can afford the standard schools because government schools are not accessible to most children that accounts for why parents take their children to schools they can afford in their neighborhoods.”

A resident, Jimoh Abu, noted that although there is nothing wrong for government to shut down sub-standard schools, he, however, said that the administration should establish more schools first.

“It’s okay if the government wants to shut down sub-standard schools but they should create more schools before doing that,” he said.

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