School owners across the country have lamented the low turnouts for the ongoing summer coaching.
Schools in Nigeria ended the 2022/2023 session towards the last week of July 2023, while they began summer coaching in the second week of August.
Summer coaching is another learning experience for learners during the holidays to keep them busy and help them learn new skills outside of academics.
As such, several parents always ensured that their children participated in the summer coaching where they could be thought robotics, coding, arts and craft, vocational skills, and soft skills to mention a few.
Unfortunately, this year, the school owners and teachers who spoke with The PUNCH complained bitterly about the low turnout.
For instance, proprietor of Joyland School, Yaba, Mrs Abimbola Osagie, explained that “There is the low turnout for the summer coaching this year, I will say about 45 per cent low rate compared to last year.”
She also hinted The PUNCH about parents’ complaints saying, “Some parents said the economy was biting hard, and we all know this. Some said they wanted to save for the first term and economise instead of paying for summer coaching. The hardship is much government should please intervene.”
Also speaking, Proprietor, Topdeal College, Dr Oladeji Akinola, said that his school decided to engage in both academics and vocational training for summer coaching.
He revealed that due to low turnout, the management had to reduce the fee for summer coaching.
“We recorded a low turnout of about 50 per cent reduction compared to last year. The economy is affecting parents negatively and there is nothing we can do about it but to reduce the fee of coaching. We asked the junior school to pay N3,000 and the senior school to pay N5,000, yet they couldn’t afford it. Some also complained about the transport fare to the school, so, it is a whole lot.”
A teacher, Arit Jeremiah, in a social media post, said, “I feel for my boss, because the turnout is low in our school too, some teachers even reached out to the parents but were given different excuses why their children will not attend this summer.”
A mother of two, Mrs Beauty Esho-Odemwingie, narrated that “I am not a fan of summer coaching so, my children didn’t attend summer school, the fee is N15,000 per child multiple by two is N30,000
“My nine-year-old is learning shoe making from my fellowship pastor at no cost, he attends three times a week, and he is also participating in my church children’s ministry Bible Bee.
“I downloaded learning apps like Khan Academy, British Council grammar, and Johnny Grammar for them to use at home.”
Madukwe B. Nwabuisi is an accomplished journalist renown for his fearless reporting style and extensive expertise in the field. He is an investigative journalist, who has established himself as a kamikaze reporter.
