Nigeria Financial Info, Market Reports



How to Run Private Schools Profitably
By David Amuwa

Following the high level of decadence that pervades the Nigerian educational system, discerning parents have continued to seek alternative means of preparing their wards for life challenges.

People are increasingly enrolling their children in in private schools where the standard of teaching is high and sustained.

According to the proprietor, EMCOY Favoured Montessori Nursery and Primary School, Ijaiye- Ogba, Lagos, Pastor Emmanuel Oluwafemi Oyewole, the quest for education in private schools has been on the increase following the fall in the standard of education in Nigeria since the late 1970s.

Oyewole, who has been running a nursery and primary school for over 20 years, says nursery and primary schools fall into different categories depending on the size and standard in terms of the facilities one wants.

However, the choice of any category, he said, is a function of availability of fund at one�€™s disposal.

Oyewole explains that he conceived the idea of setting up the school solely to contribute to the resuscitation of education in Nigeria, knowing fully well that monetary benefits would be essentially added to it..

He explains that he began the school from an uncompleted building. Hence, he says that nursery and primary school can take off in a small apartment and grow with time.



Oyewole says that he started the school with less than N5,000 in 1987, but notes that with the prevailing economic situation in the country , a minimum of N500,000 would be needed to establish such a small scale school, excluding the cost of securing a building for the venture. He adds that getting a building for the establishment gulps a large percentage of the capital. However, he adds that many nursery and primary schools took off with more than N20m.

Basically, apart from the classrooms, one must provide lockers and benches, chalk and its board, dusters, rulers and other materials that will ensure efficient delivery,�€ he says.

The Proprietor of Solid Structure School, Ifako-Ijaiye, Lagos, Mr. Toyin Eleoramo�€™s analysis is relatively similar to Oyewole�€™s. However, he adds that the size and standard of a private school depends on the taste and the mission of the proprietor.

He says that the bid to restore the moral training that had faded away in Nigeria educational system motivated him to invest in education.

He explains that he started the school in 1991 with less than N5,000, excluding the cost of building.

According to him, the same investment will now require an initial capital of N1.5m, considering the present economic situation in the country.

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