Worried about the growing number of pupils and students in public and private schools in Lagos, the governorship candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Babajide Sanwoolu and his running mate, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat pledged to find solution to this all important sector.
To this end, Hamzat has assured Private School Proprietors Association of Nigeria, Lagos chapter of robust relationship with their administration, if they were elected in March.
Hamzat assured the school owners during a one day seminar organised for school owners yesterday at the LTV complex, Blue Roof, Agidingbi, urging them to vote Sanwo-Olu and himself in the coming election.
Hamzat proposed setting up a tripartite committee where the operators can express their needs; what they want government to do and how both can collaborate in order to put education in Lagos on a good pedestal.
According to him, If we must improve the state of education in Lagos, government must partner with private owners. One of the issues to be addressed if that of multiple taxation.
Hamzat, former Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, said it was wrong for any government officials to go and closedown any school when students are in session, ‘our government will look into that’.
He also promised that their administration would partner with good private schools to help take some students in places where there are no adequate public schools to accommodate students.
Other areas he disclosed that administration would look into if elected include grading of schools, approval process for private schools, which he said any school that meets necessary conditions would get its approval within 20 days.
He said private schools “are very essential in Lagos because of the volume of population students. Besides, we will ensure that any of the school that meet the recommended requirements will have access to Empowerment Trust Fund. This will facilitates easy access to fund, by which they can expand their scope of operations”
He also added that erstwhile ruling Peoples democratic Party (PDP) does not have any business returning to rule Nigeria for now going by the setback it did to the country between 1999 and 2014 when it was in control.
According to him, “PDP destroyed infrastructure in Nigeria. For 16 years there was not a single federal road that was constructed until APC took over in 2015 the party also destroyed the power sector and others.”
