The National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Lagos State Chapter, has cautioned school owners and parents against arbitrary promotion of pupils.
“The academic environment today is challenged with academically delinquent children because students who are not psychologically and emotionally mature are being promoted to classes they are not fit for.
“Academic maturity is not enough for a child to be promoted,’’ the President of the association, Mr Wasiu Adumadeyin, said in Lagos.
Ademadeyin spoke in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of a meeting of the association.
He said that indiscriminate promotion of pupils was in the increase in a bid by their parents to hasten their graduation.
According to him, spending the required number of years in school is in the interest of pupils and the entire society as it makes them to be emotionally mature.
“If students spend the required years in school, they will be emotionally mature,’’ de said.
He told NAN that some parents mount pressure on schools to promote their children because they felt that the students were brilliant.
The association president noted that the association participated in the formation of the nine-year basic education policy of the Federal Government, adding that its members should adhere to the policy.
“Parents are in a hurry for their children to graduate from school and start work so that they can begin to reap the fruit of their labour.
“We have always told them that it is not how far but how best
“We will continue to organise seminars and workshops to sensitise stakeholders to the negative effects of the trend.
“We are part and parcel of the policy because we are invited during the formation state.
“Unfortunately, we still have some of our members that are not adhering strictly to the policy due to pressure from parents,’’ he added.
He told NAN that the association recently introduced and conducted unified examinations for interested private schools in the state with the aim of maintaining quality teaching and learning.
Earlier in his address to the meeting, Adumadeyin said that the association saved about N6 million in the last six months for constructing its secretariat.
“We are also making a move to partner with banks and other private investors to get additional funds for the project,’’ he said.
He also said that the divisions in the NAPPS, Lagos chapter, had been resolved and peace and unity restored.
“All private schools in Lagos State are now under one umbrella which is NAPPS,’’ he said.
Adumadeyin added that the association under the new executive has also met the Lagos State House of Assembly to demand that schools be exempted from land use charge.
“We presented a paper to the Lagos State House of Assembly on the issue of sundry expenses, levies and taxes being given to our members, which we feet are unjustified,” he said.
The president also said that the association had revived its National Games Festival for member- schools, adding that no fewer than 700 private schools in the state participated in different sports recently. (NAN)