Close Unregistered Private Schools, NUT Tells LASG

[Shola Sholaz]

The Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) on Friday called on the Lagos State Government to close all unregistered private primary and secondary schools in the state.
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The Chairman of the state chapter of the union, Mr Samson Idowu, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
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Idowu said that the increasing number of unregistered schools was worrisome, noting that their activities were reducing education standards.
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He advised the government to set up a taskforce that would comprise NUT members, officials of the state Ministry of Education and representatives of private school operators, for the closure.
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He regretted that some private schools in the state operated in two-bedroom flats and uncompleted buildings.
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"We are worried about the way people set up schools without approval; the schools do not have adequate classrooms.
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"They are everywhere in Lagos; they even call some international or model schools; many of them do not have uniforms for pupils.
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"This is ridiculous, and we will not tolerate it.
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"It is not our duty to shut schools which do not have approval, but we can collaborate with the Ministry of Education to stop overzealous private school owners,'' he said.
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Idowu advised that pupils and students of such schools should be absorbed in registered ones.
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"It is an act of indiscipline for people to enrich their pockets without following due process; this is what education has turned into in the country,'' he said. NAN reports that many unregistered private primary schools in the state charge low school fees.
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This attracts low income earners' patronage.
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The Lagos State Government had in April allowed primary six pupils in both registered and unregistered schools to sit for a test for placement into JSS1 in public schools.
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The state Commissioner for Education, Mrs Olayinka Oladunjoye, said that the government allowed pupils from unapproved schools to sit for the test to avoid denying them access to education.