Public primary schools in Edo State are witnessing an upsurge in pupils’ enrolment, as the Governor Godwin Obaseki-backed Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation (Edo-BEST) programme, which deploys digital technology tools in teaching across classrooms in Edo State, berths in more public schools.
Checks showed that in public schools across the state where teachers now teach with tablets and other digital teaching aids, parents and guardians are frantically registering their children to benefit from the new teaching methods.
It was learnt that the parents are pulling their children from private schools to the public schools, which have been revamped under the Edo-BEST programme.
Mr. Enagbare, a parent who withdrew three of his children from a private school to be registered at Oba Akenzua Primary School in Oredo Local Government, said he was impressed with the transformation of the schools in the state.
According to him, “Despite the huge money we spend in private schools, my children are not doing well academically. So, I decided to enrol them in a public primary school. From the news I hear from other parents like me, public schools have improved greatly because of Edo-BEST”.
Mrs Aitokpa Justina, withdrew her daughter from a private school in Uromi and enrolled her at Ivue Primary School, in Esan North East LGA. “She is going to primary three; if you ask her to spell ‘come’ she will not be able to spell it. If you ask her to spell ‘at’ she will not be able to spell it. For that reason, I decide to remove her from a private school and bring her to government school because I heard they are now teaching very well in government school,” she said.
A similar trend is being recorded in Badeki Primary School, Imiegba; Azamanodu Primary School, Imiekebu, and Atakhekha Primary School, Itsukwi, Estako East, amongst others. These schools have recorded a significant increase in pupils’ enrolment in the new academic session, with majority of them coming from private schools.
