Private school owners in Nigeria, under the auspices of the Association of Private Schools Owners of Nigeria (APSON) and the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), have asked the Federal Government to include private school pupils in the Federal Government Scholarship programme.
They also demanded that government should establish a special grant/palliative fund for teachers in private schools, in addition to payroll survival funds to schools nationwide and other areas of interventions to cushion the effects of economic hardship of their teachers.
The president of the APSON, Bishop Dr Godly E. Opukeme and national president of the NAPPS, Chief Yomi Otubela, in separate presentations, made the requests and others during the week, to Minister of Education Malam Adamu Adamu in his office in Abuja.
They said the request was made out of the urgent need for them to work together with the Ministry of Education to forge ahead with a win-win strategy, taking into account, what is realistic, pragmatic and workable for the benefit of Nigerian learners.
The private school owners also requested that the Federal Government liaise with the state government to eliminate duplication of taxes and levies, which have become a factor unseating many schools.
