By Rosemary Okoduwa
Private school proprietors in Edo State have been urged to embrace strategic planning, sound financial management, quality teaching, and effective leadership to build sustainable educational institutions in line with Governor Monday Okpebholo’s SHINE Agenda for the education sector.
The charge was given during a two-day strategic stakeholders’ engagement with private school proprietors organised by the Directorate of Education Quality and Accountability (DEQA) in collaboration with the Edo State Healthcare Regulatory and Monitoring Agency (EDOHERMA). The programme was themed “School Business for Progress: Advancing Sustainable Private Education Through Strategic School Management.”
In her welcome address, the Director-General of DEQA, Dr. Amen Ogbemudia, described government and private school proprietors as partners in the collective effort to improve education in Edo State.
She explained that the engagement was not organised to witch-hunt or sanction school owners, but to provide a platform for dialogue, collaboration, and capacity building on effective school management practices that will advance Governor Okpebholo’s SHINE Agenda and ensure that every Edo child learns in a safe, secure, healthy, and conducive environment, whether in a public or private school.
Also speaking, the CEO of EDOHERMA, Dr. Adesuwa Urhoghide Edigin, highlighted key health and safety standards expected of schools to guarantee the wellbeing of learners. Responding to concerns raised by some proprietors over the lack of space to establish sick bays, she advised schools unable to provide such facilities to establish formal partnerships with nearby hospitals to ensure prompt medical attention during emergencies.
Delivering a lecture titled “Practical Strategies in School Business Management,” Dr. Ogbemudia emphasised the importance of strategic planning, financial discipline, teacher development, gradual infrastructure expansion, regulatory compliance, child protection, technology adoption, and stakeholder collaboration as essential pillars for sustainable school management and quality education.
She encouraged school proprietors to develop clear strategic plans, maintain transparent financial records, prioritise teachers’ welfare, avoid diverting operational funds to building projects, and invest in quality service delivery to improve enrolment and ensure long term sustainability.
Participants were also urged to strengthen partnerships with DEQA, EDOHERMA, financial institutions, development partners, parents, alumni, and host communities to promote capacity building, innovation, and improved educational standards across the state.
Speaking on the importance of Occupational Therapy, Dr. Victoria Amu urged private school proprietors to encourage science students to pursue careers in Occupational Therapy, Audiology, and Speech Therapy to address Nigeria’s critical shortage of specialists in these fields. She noted that the increasing number of children with autism, speech impairments, and other developmental disorders underscores the urgent need for more trained professionals. Dr. Amu also called for the introduction of career awareness programmes in schools, stressing that greater enrolment in these courses would strengthen inclusive education, improve healthcare delivery, and provide better support for persons with special needs.
Representatives of Keystone Bank were also present at the engagement, where they enlightened participants on financial responsibility, effective financial planning, and the bank’s school support loan scheme designed to assist educational institutions in achieving sustainable growth.
The engagement concluded with a renewed commitment by stakeholders to strengthen collaboration in delivering quality education, reinforcing the consensus that sustainable school management remains critical to advancing Governor Monday Okpebholo’s vision for a transformed education sector in Edo State.
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