The School Down The Road- Choosing the Right School for Your Child.

As I typed in the title of this post, a certain TV commercial about ‘the bank down the road’ flitted across my mind. Dear parent, if you are so careful about not putting your money in just any bank down the road, why take the selection of schools for your kids with levity?


School marketers and owners are aware that Nigerians are always sold to anything foreign, so they craft their nomenclature carefully and bamboozle us with the words ‘International’, ‘Montessori’ ‘American’ ‘British’ ‘Africa!’ We live in a society where everything is used to define our social status, the kind of car you drive, the area you live in and the school your children attend. So when a Nigerian parent hits a few millions he decides to upgrade his status by changing his children’s school from the normal ‘Pretty Minds Nursery and Primary School’  to some ‘African Independent –Nigerian Coefficient Academy’ down the road - at least if they are not in ‘British’ yet let them manage Africa for now. Status is the new standards, sadly.

Now, let me issue a disclaimer, this is not to say that schools with those insertions and verbose foreign curriculums are phony, not at all! Soon I will be doing reviews on schools on here with the aim of either getting you started on your school selection, putting your mind at rest or making you grab your kids and run as fast as your legs can carry you. 

Early years, Primary and Secondary Schools (or whatever fancy name you know them by), usually come full circle by the end of the school year in July. The periods between July and the start of the new school year  will always see teachers leave for a ‘better’ school that pays higher and has better staff welfare.At this time also, parents decide whether their children are returning to the same school or moving on. Some parents will be ‘upgrading’ their status, while some, in these trying times of economic crunch, will heartbreakingly take their children to lesser paying schools. A few other parents will also be making a false ‘fresh start’ leaving and stretching the trail of debt and owed school fees behind them.

As September and the beginning of a new school year is almost upon us, just before you make that school change as a parent or teacher, you need to ask some questions to know if that school is really international or close to Montessori as they claim.  What are your goals? What should you be looking out for in a school? A foreign curriculum is good but standards and delivery of quality education are great. Expensive is not always equal to quality and there are still some very affordable schools that have better standards than that ‘Chinko-Afrik Nigerian International College’ down the road.

I have prepared a checklist to guide you on what to look out for when choosing a school.  If you’d like a copy, find the ‘Follow by email’ button on this blog, subscribe then email SCHOOL SELECTION CHECKLIST to 1teacher2anoda@gmail.com and I will send you a free PDF copy as soon as I get the notification.
Also, if you reside in Abuja and are thinking of changing your child’s school but you are worried that you wouldn’t know a phony school even if it hit you smack in the face, send an email titled SCHOOL SELECTION to 1teacher2anoda@gmail.com and you will be contacted within 24hours. You can also call 09082378344, let an expert eye go check it out for you.

Education will become a powerful weapon that can be used to change the world only if it is delivered appropriately.

CIAO