By George Odok
Calabar – The Cross River House of Assembly has advised proprietors of private schools in the state to enhance the training, quality and specialisation of their teachers.
Mr Hilary Bisong, Chairman, Special Committee on Private Schools, gave the advice on Monday in Calabar when he led his colleagues on an oversight function to private schools in Calabar metropolis.
Bisong, who represents Boki II state constituency in the assembly, told journalists after the inspection that some private schools employed unspecialised teachers in most fields and were charging high school fees.
“We are not satisfied with the quality of teachers in the private schools, especially in the area of specialisation.
“But on the whole, most of the teachers have acquired basic tertiary education.
“Some of the proprietors in the schools we visited have shown likelihood that they will send their teachers to acquire Bachelor of Education in various fields.
“This exercise is very important because we need to carry out an urgent legislative intervention into the quality and standard of private schools in the state.
“This oversight function will also help us to confirm the ownership structures of the schools and any other areas that will require government intervention to support the standard,’’ he said.
According to him, the committee will also visit private schools in the northern and central parts of the state and submit its reports to the assembly for further action.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the lawmakers visited Access High School, Aunty Sama Nursery and Primary School, Lourdes Academy, St. Anne’s High School, among others.
A member of the committee, Mr Fred Osim, said that the exercise became necessary because the house went on a similar oversight function last in 2006.
Osim, who represent Ikom 1 state constituency, said the exercise was important because the house needed to confirm the quality of infrastructure and fees charged by private schools in the state.
He advised private schools to engage the services of qualified and trained teachers, as the beauty of a school was not only in the `beautiful structures’ alone, but the quality of the teachers.
Mrs Folasade Umoden, Managing Director of Access High School, told the lawmakers that the exercise would help to correct the imbalance in private schools.
Umoden urged the lawmakers to initiate bills that would enhance the smooth operation of private schools in the state.
“The government alone cannot effectively run the educational sector.
“So, we also need government support in the areas of donation of books, laboratory equipment and others, as we are complementing government’s effort,’’ she said.