By joshua OPEN LETTER TO KOGI COMMISSIONER FOR EDUCATION: SAVE OUR SCHOOLS BEFORE THE DAMAGE BECOMES IRREVERSIBLE
Time to Audit, Close, Merge, and Reform Substandard Private Schools in Kogi State
By Comrade Muhammed Yusuf Osana
Coordinator, Education Task Force
Dear Honourable Commissioner,
I write this open letter not as an attack on private education but as a passionate appeal for the urgent rescue of the education system in Kogi State.
The Honourable Commissioner, the time has come for the Ministry of Education to take a critical look at the alarming proliferation of private schools across the state, particularly in Kogi Central.
The number of private schools is growing rapidly, but the quality of education is not growing at the same pace.
In some communities, private schools have emerged in almost every residential neighbourhood. Some operate from converted residential buildings, abandoned structures, and other environments that were never designed to provide quality educational services.
This development should concern every responsible stakeholder.
WE MUST ASK THE DIFFICULT QUESTION
What is the essence of having hundreds of schools if many of them lack qualified teachers, adequate classrooms, libraries, laboratories, recreational facilities, sanitation facilities, and a conducive learning environment?
Education is not simply about putting a signboard on a building and calling it a school.
A school is an environment where children must be properly taught, nurtured, disciplined, and prepared for life.
Unfortunately, the uncontrolled proliferation of poorly equipped and poorly staffed private schools risks producing a generation of students who possess certificates but lack the basic skills those certificates are supposed to represent.
Today, we are increasingly confronted with students at the senior secondary level who struggle with basic reading, writing, and spelling.
This should be a wake-up call.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS HAVE BUILDINGS—BUT WHERE ARE THE TEACHERS?
There is an unfortunate contradiction in our education system.
While numerous private schools continue to spring up, some public schools across Kogi State have classrooms and other infrastructure but insufficient teachers and declining enrolment.
The government has invested heavily in educational infrastructure in many communities. Yet, some of these facilities are underutilised because there are not enough teachers to adequately cater to the pupils.
At the same time, qualified and experienced teachers are scattered across numerous private establishments.
This is where the government must think differently.
Rather than allowing the situation to continue unchecked, the Ministry should undertake a comprehensive audit of all private schools operating in the state.
Schools that meet the required standards should be encouraged and properly regulated.
But schools that fail to meet minimum standards should be given a clear compliance timeline or, where necessary, closed.
Where two or more schools are operating within the same locality and a nearby public school has adequate facilities, the government should consider a structured merger or integration programme.
WHAT HAPPENS TO THE PROPRIETORS AND TEACHERS?
This reform should not be designed as a punishment.
Qualified teachers and competent personnel working in affected schools should not simply be thrown into unemployment.
After proper verification of qualifications, competence, character, and experience, eligible personnel should be considered for absorption into the public education workforce where vacancies and needs exist.
This could provide a double advantage:
We reduce the number of substandard schools while simultaneously strengthening the shortage of teachers in public schools.
Even proprietors who have genuine experience and qualifications in education could be given opportunities to participate in the state’s education development programmes, subject to government policy and existing regulations.
ESTABLISH A SPECIAL EDUCATION QUALITY ASSURANCE TASK FORCE
I strongly recommend the immediate establishment of a high-powered Education Quality Assurance and Compliance Task Force to conduct a state-wide assessment.
The task force should:
– Identify and register every private school operating in Kogi State.
– Verify the approval status of each school.
– Inspect the physical facilities and learning environment.
– Verify the qualifications of teachers and administrators.
Assess pupil-teacher ratios.
– Examine the availability of laboratories, libraries, sporting, and recreational facilities.
– Identify schools operating in unsuitable residential or abandoned structures.
– Issue compliance directives to schools that fall below minimum standards.
– Recommend closure or merger where compliance is impossible or where necessary.
– Assess qualified teachers from affected schools for possible absorption into the public system.
– Monitor compliance continuously rather than conducting one-off inspections.
The exercise should be led by the appropriate authorities within the Ministry, particularly the Quality Assurance Department, with sufficient authority, personnel, and resources to carry out its mandate without interference.
THIS IS NOT AN ATTACK ON PRIVATE SCHOOLS
Let me make this clear: private schools are not the enemy.
Many private schools in Kogi State are doing excellent work. They employ qualified teachers, maintain good facilities, and provide quality education.
Such schools deserve government support and encouragement.
The problem is the existence of institutions that operate primarily as businesses while paying inadequate attention to the educational needs and welfare of the children entrusted to them.
We can not sacrifice the future of our children for commercial interests.
THE GOVERNMENT MUST ACT NOW
Honourable Commissioner, education is one sector where the government can not afford to wait until the consequences become irreversible.
If we fail to regulate the system today, we may find ourselves tomorrow trying to repair an educational foundation that has already collapsed.
The Ministry should, therefore, consider a State Education Rationalisation and Quality Improvement Programme that will bring together public and private education stakeholders and determine how best to deploy existing infrastructure, teachers, and other resources.
Our objective should be simple:
Fewer substandard schools.
Better-equipped schools.
More qualified teachers.
Better learning environments.
Better learning outcomes.
Kogi State deserves an education system that produces children who can read, write, think critically, create, innovate, and compete anywhere in the world.
The future of Kogi is sitting in our classrooms today.
We must not allow poor regulation, unqualified personnel, and unsuitable learning environments to determine the future of our children.
I, therefore, respectfully but firmly call on the Honourable Commissioner for Education and the Kogi State Government to begin this reform process without further delay.
Let us save our schools.
Let us protect our children.
Let us restore confidence in public education.
Let us make quality not quantity the standard by which we measure educational progress in Kogi State.
Signed:
Comrade Muhammed Yusuf Osana
Coordinator, Education Task Force
Kogi State