The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, on Wednesday, met with private school operators in the State to rally their support for the government’s efforts at enhancing the quality of education and improving learning outcomes across schools in the State.
The governor, at a closed-door meeting with the private school operators, at the Government House, in Benin City, reaffirmed his government’s commitment to tackling learning poverty and enhancing access to inclusive and quality education.
The Associations present at the meeting include the Association of Private School Owners of Nigeria (APSON), the Association for Formidable Educational Development (AFED), and the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS).
The Edo State Commissioner for Education, Dr. Joan Osa Oviawe, who spoke to journalists after the meeting on behalf of the governor, said the government is committed to providing a thriving business environment for small and medium-scale enterprises including private schools, adding, “His Excellency listened to concerns and issues raised and discussed and we came up with an agreement.”
She continued: “The immediate task on the part of the proprietors is to submit to the directorate of quality assurance, a list of their members. Before we start to discuss or talk about various issues raised, we want to know and benchmark their members, who are registered in Edo State, those who are providing standard quality of education, those not meeting the standard but willing to improve, and those that really have no business providing education because their quality are sub-standard.
“The associations have promised that before Friday 15th September 2023, they will submit the list of their members in Edo State.”
On his part, the State Chairman of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Edo State Chapter, Dr. Lemmy Russel, has expressed the readiness of the private school operators to improve the quality of education in Edo State.
He said the governor and the private school operators explored various issues relating to challenges and way of improving the State’s education sector, among others.
The NAPPS chairman said, “We just came out of a meeting with the governor and have agreed to work with the Ministry of Education and the Directorate of Quality Assurance. It’s our hope to work as a team.”
