Contd. from Cultism in Primary, Secondary Schools Unfortunate II - Omolade Ajayi

You will have heard the argument of the Ministry of Education that some of you who are clamouring to close down some mushroom schools started same way…
We didn't start that way.
…that you are being selfish now that you have succeeded to have standard schools.
We didn't start that way. Each time I drive round and I see some schools I feel ashamed as a proprietor. I didn't start that way, and most of us when we started schools we passed through different stages, and I want to use Divine School as an example. When I started Ministry of Education conducted an inspection. Ministry of Health conducted an inspection. I was asked to provide four toilets. And the Ministry of Education said if the Ministry of Health did not give me a letter stating that all facilities were in place it would not give me approval. We had to build two more toilets to make four before this school we are in now was given approval. It wasn't like this when we started.
Unfortunately now, it is approval for sale. If you look at proximity of schools to one another you start to wonder whether the officials of the Ministry of Education don't go out any more. Don't they go out? Don't they see what's going on? It's unfortunate when we go to the Ministry they keep asking you how many approved schools are in your area. How many unapproved schools are there? We used to tell them don't you go out? Are you not the one that gave them approval? I didn't start that mushroom way. When I started I started in 4-bedroom house and plus the sitting room made up of five bedroom house – the whole house. It was fenced. The Ministry insisted that it must be fenced and all the recreational facilities were in place, the toilets were in place, the sick-bay was in place, the play area was in place, the classrooms very airy; not like you entre a face-to-face house in which one portion is used for a school and the other portion the pounding of mortal is creating din of noise or music is blaring out from the huge wooden speakers when class is going on. It is very unfair statement to say we started that way.
The standard was very high then. For example, when I started the standard was very, very high that they came for inspection. You don't meet all the facilities required they don't turn the blind eye. Everything must be in place before it must be approved.

What are you recommending for the Ministry of Education?
The Ministry of Education under the zonal offices should just be fir, especially to the proprietors of private schools. We know that the more the merrier just like the Ministry official would say. Some of them because of commercial reasons we know got some mushroom schools approval, the more money comes to the government cover. I used to say whenever I went to the Ministry of Education that with the way the whole things are going it is not only my own children or other people's children alone that would bear the brunt it is the children of the Ministry officials – that person that is there today to see that the right things are done and does not make them to be done his own children or grand children will suffer for the decadence on the long run.
Like I said when I moved round some time even when we went for meetings in some schools I don't feel comfortable when I entred some of them. I wonder with this type of environment parents still bring their children just because the school fees are low. We know all fingers are not equal but at the same time the standard should be set and once the standard has been set we should try to improve on it and this goes to the Ministry of Education in the inspection of schools for approval.

Private schools are fond of awarding marks to their students in order to entice parents to take their children to those schools. That leads us to “Miracle Centres”. What's your stake?
To be realistic I have heard about these Miracle Centres and I believe it concerns those who are running secondary schools. I don't run secondary school. I run pre-school, nursery and primary schools.
When you look at it this angle of proprietors of private schools awarding marks to students in secondary schools all in the name of attracting more students to their schools, it is unfortunate. How about when they go for external competition, external exams? What will happen? It's unfortunate. Even within the fold of owners of schools we have people doing that. It's very unfortunate. I will like to use the example of NAPPS Unified Examination that Ogun State has introduced for example. Each time they sent my own teachers from this school to another school and another set of teachers from other schools were sent to come and inspect (invigilate) here, I would give them a room; give them keys to the door of the room so that they could lock up the questions papers. They locked up the question papers. There should be no reason for that.
For example, I can't bring myself so low as to give my students here answers to exams questions. I wouldn't do that. To school that do that by the time such students leave such schools or by the time parents compare their children with other children from other schools, would the difference not be glaring.  The difference will be so obvious that they will know. Parents have a way of comparing their children, may be during holidays when they visit some members of their extended family. They may compare their children with the children of their hosts. That's why some of them, some parents have time to sit down with their children to really see them improve academically.
I don't think it is the best for any proprietor to descend so low as to write out answers for their pupils or students. It is not the best.  As teachers we should be able to live up that name teacher and not “cheaters”, if there is anything like that. I know Divinethere's “cheat” just to coin it out of need. We should be teachers and not cheaters, and we should remember one thing that if we have really done our own part and really done our best our children will excel wherever they are. The bottom line is that after all said and done we should remember our creator is watching us. He has a way of rewarding everybody not only earth but also in Heaven. If we remember this we won't descend so low so as to be doing something, being involved in examination malpractice or even the proprietor himself conducting examination or even writing Mathematics for his students. It is so absurd. And it is very unfortunate.

What's the role of parents in all this?
The parents have a role to play, a significant role to play. In this time now you see parents paying for miracle centre, fighting teachers, coming into schools to say my child ought to come first. Why did he come second or third position? My child is the most brilliant (Omo mi lo mo'we ju). It happens here too.
Some time I invite such parents asking them if they were the class teachers – Are you the class teacher? How can you be able to assess other children? Just that your child came first position last term does not mean other children won't work hard to beat him/her this time around. Honestly, it is very absurd some time the role some parents play in all this. Parents buying question papers for exam or parents paying for “Origio” all in the name of passing exams they did not read for – such children did not read for such exams. If they read for such exams they wouldn't fail. The teachers would not set questions on topics they didn't teach. Teachers would set some questions based on what was taught. If your child has been able to be attentive, punctual in school and does his/her homework and reads at home, and at school there's no way such a child would not excel. Parents should give school owners, even teachers in schools – room to do their work. They should not interfere in whatever way. They should not interfere in how – if children are beaten or molested in any way – parents should not come in and interfere in the academic affairs of a school.
Like I would tell parents who came here sometime to say things. I would tell them the truth. Some time I would invite the teacher, I would invite the supervisor or the head teacher of the school to join us and say the truth of what had been complained of. The bottom line is that I told 
the parents once the children crossed the school gate please give us the free hand. We would not ill treat your children. We would treat them the way w treat our own children. Just give us that free hand to do our work. Some time you find caterer or nurses coming here to teach the teachers their job. What's the effect of the training of the teachers if they are trained to be teachers and parents who not teachers are saying 'this is what I want you to do for my child. I don't want this. This is what I want.' There will be confusion. Just give us free hand. And at the end you too will be happy, the children will be happy, the teachers too will be happy.

Recently, Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology said in view of overpopulation in public schools in Ogun State, her Ministry was contemplating to introduce “Shift System” to depopulate the schools. Do you think as an experienced school operator “shift system” in the 21st century will make a difference in the standard of education, in the discipline of children, in over all development of those kids?
As a stakeholder in the education sector in Ogun State, I have also heard this. But I wouldn't want to preempt the Commissioner for Education because I don't know how they intend to implement this shift system.
When we look at the situation in Nigeria now, the security situation we find ourselves in Nigeria I don't think it is in the best interest of Nigeria child. I don't think so. Let's look at this this way, children that even go to school now go in the morning and come back in the afternoon yet we have many cases of teenage pregnancies, unwanted pregnancies, abortions, children that are born out of wedlock. I will look at from that angle.
Let's look at it at other angle that some will go in the morning and some will go in the evening/night or even in the afternoon. Parents will be at work in the morning and go back home in the evening just to make ends meet. By the time they get back home such children would still be in schools, especially, children in secondary schools to come back by themselves in the evening or in the night especially if they are in afternoon shift. By the time they come back they would not be the type of children we all have. When they leave schools how would the parents be so sure of their movement – that from schools they are coming straight home. Would they not use the darkness of the night to get involved in things they ought not to get involved at these ages? These are some of the questions parents are wanting answers to before they know whether this shift system is the best system for Ogun State to address overpopulation in public schools.
Truly, if you visit some schools and look at the population of some schools even some classes have 80, 110, 120 students/pupils in a class. You wonder how those teachers of such schools are coping, to mark, to conduct test, even to conduct continuous assessment, or to conduct examination and mark and still meet deadline in those schools.
But if it appears to be the solution when we look at the security challenge that the parents are facing now and the type of children that are so exposed that if you give them a mile they would just take ten miles; I am not of the belief that it is the best. Like I have said I don't want to preempt the person who is wearing the shoes, the Commissioner for Education in Ogun State and I am of the belief that by the time they come out with the full implementation of that policy then we will be able to put two and two together to really see what they have in mind.

Do you have any solution to bring the classes to normal, to the UNESCO prescription?
I believe that in order to bring down the population or the number of students/pupils per class as the case may be especially in government secondary schools there are schools that don't have large population, they could merge those children, they could send some of those children to schools which are under populated. They can look at a school that has 1000 students but its capacity can address only 500 students effectively. They can merge the remaining 500 students with other schools that have low population or the number of pupils in those schools is not much we can merge the excess with them. Better still build more schools, build more blocks of classrooms to accommodate more students. That will be better than this shift system. Some children coming back at 2 O' clock, other starting at 2 O' clock to coming back at 6 or 8 O' clock in the night, I don't think it is the best. Those students will get involved in many vices that will be very negative.

You celebrated your silver jubilee. May you let us into the ever green memory of the day?
Thank you for returning to the celebration. It a week-long programme. It started on Monday and the grand-finale was on Friday. We had roadshow on the first day to sensitise the public. On the second day we paid a visit to Orphanage Home. The essence was to let our pupils to know that they were blessed because they have their parents. The children in that orphanage do not have their parents. Some were left at the dumpsite and were picked up from there. We let them know this so that they would be able to appreciate what they have. They took gifts to those less privileged children. The third day we had the Proprietors Day. It was an interaction among proprietors of schools. They came here to felicitate with us and share experiences, questions were asked by those who are just coming up from us about what we had passed through, we had scaled through. It was a memorable occasion that day – the Proprietors Day. Then on the fourth day we had thanksgiving and we had the grand-finale too.
At the grand-finale we had pupils who had left this school ten, twenty years ago coming back. It was a great reunion. We also had parents of our old pupils who didn't even know we have moved to our permanent site. They came back here to felicitate with us. What really moved me was how those children have turned out in life. I really felt encouraged. As I was reading their profiles online it got to stage I shed tears of joy. Those are the children I had not seen in the last ten, fifteen, twenty years ago. When I read their profiles on how well they have done in life I was just weeping thanking God for His grace over them and over the school too.
Something happened that day – Proprietors Day. When I was asked to speak on the experiences over the years once I was given the microphone I sang a song: “Iba se pe Oluwa ko si nipa ti wa/Kilo ye ka wa maa wi/Nigba T'esu gbogun dide/Ope ni f'Oluwa Baba wa Olore/Ka se'ba Kabiyesi, Kabiyesi re/A f'ope fun Jehova t'o gba mi l'owo ota/A dupe f'Oluwa. And as I was singing this song I was shedding tears and rolling on the floor when I looked back at what I had passed through, to be able to stand and still be called proprietor today. It is not an easy job. It has always been by His grace. And being a child of God I'm someone that is very close to God. When I look back at everything that people had brought my way that I know was diabolical I have really stood my ground to say “No”. Even in really, really trying times but I stood.
When you look around the number of schools around here you wonder how is this school is able to stand. That day when I was talking I remembered what we had gone through. People had come to bring different solutions. “E try eleyi naa.” (Try this one.)  I had been able to say “No”. I rather said if God says this school is still going to exist, because there is 'G'-factor in everything. That's God factor. If God says yes nobody can say no. That's what I held on to. I said “God, if you have really called me – I held it as a calling because I have no other work. If it is a calling and You are that have called me (manifest your power); it is not like I have seen any school, even in this area there was no private school at all. When you look at it now you wonder how this school has existed. So when I ponder over such things then on the day I was asked to speak I was just crying and rolling on the ground thanking God for His mercies. A lot of water has passed under the bridge that it is only by His grace.
I thank God that I have been able to stand strong. I have only not been able to stand strong, I am a human being. I give the glory to my Maker who has been able to stand like the rock o Gibraltar over the school. If not for His grace may be the school would have folded up because of springing up of schools here and there. This is the memorable occasion that I can always remember even as I'm sitting like this. When I look at it I still really thank God for His grace and mercy.

I just want to go a little bit personal. What's the role of your family in all this – when I say family I mean your immediate family?
 Thank you very much. My family has been very supportive of the school. At times my husband would come here to see in which way he could assist though he also has other businesses. Though, he's retired now. He has other things he's into. I have a daughter who has left university now. She's just not interested in running the school. It is not in her line at all. She has established into interior designing, decorations of homes. That's the area she is into. She is not just interested in joining me to run the school. If she has had interest I would have been very happy and it would have been really relieved me. But she doesn't have that interest at all. Both of them have been very supportive. They have supported me all the ways. As a matter of fact my husband has stood with me before I started the school and up till today. Even my daughter as much as she has no interest in the running of the school, once she sees things other schools are doing whenever she travels out or in Lagos where she stays most of the time she would call my attention to it, saying 'Mummy why don't look at this, what about adding this to the school it will really help your school'.

Would you say her childhood experience, seeing you going through some difficulty, perhaps, agonizing over unpaid fees etc., is responsible for her lack of interest in joining you running the school?
No. She is a disciplined (strict) person. That's the reason. She does not want to be involved in running the school. She would say Mummy if I should come here you would lose half of your pupils, you would lose half of your teachers because some of the things I can accommodate she would not especially when it relates to payment of school fees. She believes fees must be paid as and when due. Fees must be paid before resumption, not mid-term or examination time. These are some of the things that would not make her join me. She would just say Mummy handle it the way you know best.