Supreme Special: Difference between Public and Private Primary and Secondary Schools in Nigeria

There are several preconceived notions regarding private and public schools. Private schools are owned by individuals as the name connotes, often assumed to be very expensive because funding is not via budget as it is with the public schools but by internally generated revenue mainly from tuition and other fees, private schools are elitist because they provide educational services for the high and the middle class population in the society and are presumed to be a better bet for admission to good colleges. Public schools are often thought of as shoddy, less disciplined and low-grade curriculum. This comparison offers a fair insight into both schools for parents to make an informed decision. Public schools are government owned schools. One of the core purposes of government is the provision of quality education for the citizens and this include the building of schools and vocational centres for the training of citizens. The government fund education via its budgets , this makes public schools relatively less stressful and inexpensive to access.

Public primary and secondary schools are known for recruiting very qualified and experienced teachers because the government has the capacity to do so. These teachers are specialist in their various subject areas which makes the work load lesser for them and by translation give the best to the students.

Does an average Nigerian prefer the public school to the private? Are the public schools desirable even with these points mentioned above? No. Why? The major challenges faced by Government owned institutions in Nigeria are Infrastructural decay, the funds earmarked for building, equipping and upgrading of public schools are usually embezzled. This leaves the schools in an ill-equipped state. Most public schools plants lack adequate maintenance, they have dilapidated structures due to years of government and internal management neglect. This has affected the output from such schools. Lack of proper supervision and inspection of the activities of public schools in Nigeria accounts for the unacceptable and unprofessional attitude of both teaching and non teaching staff .

PRIVATE PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Just as the government owns schools, private individuals also establish schools for the training of citizens. One of the advantages of private schools is that there is proper and continuous supervision of teachers and non teachers employed by the school authorities which accounts for effectiveness and efficiency in the entire school system. With a high curriculum, the quality of education received in a private school better as the teachers put in their best to deliver due to regular supervision. Private school owners place priority on infrastructure by putting necessary once in place and ensuring they are regularly maintained, all of these is just to make teaching and learning process interesting.

Are the private schools free from challenges? No. One of such is that they are elistic which makes them very expensive. Private schools owners are businesses people and the reason for establishing and investing in any business is to make profit . Tuition and other fees are out of the reach of the ordinary man, as only the rich or middle class members of the society can afford them. This is expected because they are usually as a means of meeting up with their profit target. Qualifications of teachers employed by private schools may not be at par with their counterparts in public schools, they end up employing less qualified teachers to teach in the schools to maximize profit.

In summary, the debate on the difference between the public and private schools in Nigeria can go on forever, both schools have their strength, weakness, opportunities and threats as we mentioned a few of them. The major difference between both institutions are funding and management. Public schools are funded and managed in Nigeria by either the Local, State or the Federal Government. While the private schools are managed by private individuals but funded majorly by students tuition.

The question now is which of these schools is better in terms of academic performance ? We will find out in our next edition.

Krystal IBHADE Tamunosiki

krystaltaminosiki@gmail .com

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