Posted by By Kelechi Nwaucha on
Private school owners in Rivers State gathered in Port Harcourt last Friday, to hold a one-day state-wide seminar, aimed at making them better managers of their institutions of learning and arrest the falling standard of education in the country.
Private school owners in Rivers State gathered in Port Harcourt last Friday, to hold a one-day state-wide seminar, aimed at making them better managers of their institutions of learning and arrest the falling standard of education in the country.
Tagged "Efficient Management of Schools", the seminar, which was organized by the private school Owners Association (Rivers State Council), and was the second in the annual series had school owners from different parts of Rivers State to listen to lectures on improving teaching methods, merger of schools and proper management of finances.
In her speech, the chairperson of the occasion and co-ordinating inspector at the Federal Ministry of Education, Mrs. Mary-Rose Ofoluwa, commended the association for embarking on self-improvement programmes which she noted would benefit owners of the participating schools.
"It is a ripple effect that uplifts the educational standard, not only of your schools, but in the long run that of the state, and finally the nation", she said, adding that the issues the seminar discussed were ones that are crucial to better the educational system of the country.
Also speaking, the chairman of the Rivers State council of the Private School Owners Association, Mr. Alex Ellah, said "for sometime now, the fallen standard of education in our society has called for questioning" a situation, which he said demands an efficient management of schools.
"The topic: Efficient management of schools" has been decided upon, to enlighten proprietors/proprietresses on the duties of school owners and their contributions towards nation building. For us school owners to efficiently operate our schools, we need to be well-informed, hence the need for this seminar", he said.
He lamented the low standard of education in the country and said that there was need for all, including the government, the society and voluntary agencies, to join hands in remedying the situation.
Speaking on behalf of the participants, the association's state finance officer and proprietor of Victory Comprehensive College, Elelenwo, Deacon Peter Efukikata, described the seminar as "a rewarding experience. We are going to use it to improve the quality of our schools. As character-moulders, we need to improve and update our knowledge, so as to improve the quality of education we offer", he added.