The National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools(NAPPS), Edo State chapter has frowned at some of the policies enacted by the Obaseki-led government arguing the policies would make students to be idle and redundant at home.
They are also pleading with the governor, Godwin Obaseki not to allow primary six and the Junior Secondary School examinations to be written in March, the second term in the school calendar, stressing that it would make the students to stay long at home thereby make some lazy and likely to resort to various types of negative social vices.
NAPPS at an enlarged meeting held in Benin City, the state capital with chairmen and proprietors and proprietresses of various NAPPS chapters in the 18 local government areas issued the statements in a resolution agreed upon after brainstorming on what it termed some grey areas on government policies on private schools in Edo State.
In the resolution, the body threatened not to enroll their students for the primary six and junior secondary school examinations if the Edo State Government refuses to address the issue of making students write the examinations during the second term in March to resume in September, which they said is uncomfortable to private schools owners.
The body equally appealed to the state government through the ministry of Education to handle the issuance of identity cards and biometrics for every private school student in the state.
They explained that the state government had said in one of the forums that in order to curtail the insecurity in the state, it is pertinent for government to conduct a biometrics of every citizen in Edo state and urged that rather than entrusting that duty in relation to private schools to the education ministry, that task should be handled by the state government to avoid duplication of facts.
“This is a general State meeting, we came to refuse some policies on the ongoing government educational reforms. It is good, but there are some areas that we feel like appealing to the state government to look into critically and make some adjustments, so that it should not be we are changing what is good for the bad.
“Number one area is the area of Primary Six and J. S. S. 3 Exams. In as much as these exams will take place, there is no need of holding second term exams in March. Instead, we are appealing because students are ours, what would they be doing in the third term? You have no moral justification to tell students who have finished their final exams to still be coming to school and their third term is part of their classes. We are appealing to the state government, through the Ministry of Education, to look at it critically.
“Then another one is the issue of biometrics and ID Cards to be produced for all the students in the state, ranging from KG to Senior Secondary Three, SS3. The state governor His Excellency, Godwin Obaseki told Edo State people recently that the state government is trying to issue identity cards to all citizens in the state.
“So we feel the ministry of Education should allow the state government’s own take preeminence rather than for the ministry of Education to produce the ID cards to avoid duplications of ID cards. This and others we beg the ministry and the state government to allow them to go and have readjustments.
“We appreciate the Edo State government reforms in all areas of education but, we as NAPPS in the state, are appealing for some adjustments in the policies that the government introduced in school reforms in Edo state. This harmonization of the school calendar, the timing for primary six and JSS3 exams, which the Edo state government said should be written in the second term, in March, will not work well.
“We are appealing that the exams should be written in third term, after Mid-Term Break. This will now enable students have full academic benefits. Because if the students write the exams in second term, what would now happen to the whole of second term? Although, Edo state government said, the students will still be coming to schools after they write the exams in second term. you and I know that the students will not be coming to school if they finish writing their exams,” Comrade Ikponmwenstated.
Responding to a recent comment made by the Education commissioner, Comrade Reuben Ikponmwen stated, “The commissioner of education, Dr Joan Osa Oviawe said, low income private schools who have not met government requirements approval registration, have no government recognition so government wants to give those schools examination centers for the year. It is not done and it is illegal in law.
“Our stand is that if government does not give unapproved schools exam centers to use and the ministry of Education is concerned about the students in those schools, they should be taken to government schools to write their exams. If the government said they don’t want these unapproved schools to write exams in approved private schools, the students should be taken to public schools to write the exams.”
Comrade Lucky Adeyan one of the NAPPS executive members in Egor Local Government Area said it is wrong for students to remain at home for six months after writing their examination.
He said: “It is wrong for a students to be at home in six months. We know what Covid-19 did in this country and the world at large where, when the students resumed school, it looked as if they have not learnt anything.
“So allowing such students to spend six months at home before resumption date will be too bad and dangerous for the parents and students. We appeal to the state government to make it normal or make an adjustment after mid-term break.”
Also speaking, NAPPS representative in Oredo Local Government Area, Comrade Kelvin Egboigbe, said there should be a written document in form of MoU between the commissioner of Education and NAPPS to know if it requires payment of funds by private school owners before students from private schools will be allowed to be captured for the ID cards and biometrics.
NAPPS chairman in Uhunwonde Local Government Area, Comrade Daniel Utemeh, said the Edo state government has good plans for enhancing education in the state following the stakeholders in education forum held with the government recently and advised that government should be civil and sincere in its approach.
