Parents and school owners are left shortchange over the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to postpone the 2019 election earlier scheduled to hold February 16.
A cross section of Nigerian parents, teachers who spoke to BusinessDay are still unconvinced that despite several reassurance by the Chairman of INEC that the body was ready for election, it decides to postpone the election.
They stated that they are not happy with the decision of INEC to shift the date of the election saying that it will have a huge impact on the school calendar earlier planned based on the February 16 date.
According to them, “It is alarming to think of the magnitude of disruption that this one week shift could have on the plans of parents and school owners”.
Franca Duke, an educationist with St Savoir School, Ikoyi Lagos said she saw this postponement coming adding that as an elite school, they get security briefing from Shell and British High Commission with a Briton sponsored Head teacher every Mondays and Wednesdays.
Duke however, observed that there are too many school running without yearly calendar. According to him, “This set of schools will be in a box now. Confused and not knowing what else to do”.
Commenting further on the impact, she opines that the impact is huge if no adequate planning put in place as back up. It means Common. Entrance, WAEC and Jamb classes will be disturbed and if care is not taken, Mass failure may occur.
She further said that parents may likely feel shortchanged but, again, fear of unknown gripped everyone including parents. “Again, takes me to every child getting adequate education to be able to form an opinion of good decision”, she said.
Sunday Attah, proprietor, Mandate Group of Schools, Igando Lagos said he is not happy with Inec’s decision to shift the election knowing that this will have a disruptive consequences on school calendar especially private school owners who plan their programmes ahead.
According to him, “It is quite sad that a lot of the times disruption in academic programmes does not speak well of managers of the economy”.
Attah observed that while public school have assistant from the government, private schools don’t have subvention so any disruption of their academic programme has serious consequences on the operation of the private schools.
Mark Adegoke a parent said told BusinessDay that it is a pity what INEC is doing our children who have been hurried back home from their school because of the election only for them to just postponed it at the 11th hour.
Adegoke pointed out that many parents are struggling to pay school fees of their wards to keep them in school and out of the streets, yet these children are forced to come home and some now engage in various vices.
According to him, “The shifting is not good for students when you consider that studies are disrupted, it affects them; imagine those who were in the middle of writing examinations having that flow disrupted.’’
Another parent, Anyanwu Ogochukwu said the Inec decision to postpone the election is worrisome adding that it would affect the productivity of the students. As a parent, the capacity of our children for productive interaction with their studies is being jeopardised.
According to him, “I do not trust this INEC. This abrupt shifting will impact the learning process of children and impact negatively on students. “This sudden announcement by INEC is affecting the students and even we the parents because unexpectedly these children are coming home which they did not plan for.
“That is not the main issue because you cannot stop your children from coming home no matter what. “The issue is actually causing a lot of problems for these children in the sense that they just stay too long in school”, he said.
