The Enugu state chapter of the Association of Private School Owners of Nigeria (APSON) has identified tutorial centres, known as ‘miracle centres’, as posing a serious threat to basic education in the state.
The APSON Enugu state Chairman, Mr Emeka Grahams, stated this on Sunday, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu.
Grahams said migration of students to these centres from Senior Secondary one (SS1) had forced many to abandon their Senior Secondary 2 and 3 before writing their external exams.
He explained that many students, in collaboration with their parents, now engaged in using these centres to pass their West African Examination Council’s exams.
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Grahams, who is also the Proprietor, Professor’s Ivy League School, Enugu, said the tutorial centres were not always planned, arranged and regulated like the basic education.
According to him, the manner they operate will not be able to integrate a child to pass through the required basic education based on literacy, numeracy and lifestyle.
It was in those centres, he said, “That they become cultists, smokers and commit all kinds of crime.
“In school, we monitor students and ensure that they are on the right track, but in miracle centres, no one cares what they do.
“The pillar and foundation of basic education is the basic lifestyle anchored on morality,” Grahams said.
The chairman stressed that the primary aim of being in school was to inform, educate and transform, which was contrary to any place where people simply acquire mere certificate.
He described proprietors and principals that were involved in tutorial centres and engaged in examination malpractice as business minded people.
“This is so because it involved money and we as a body have preached against it. They do it to impress parents on the performance of their children” he said.
Grahams appealed to parents, school owners and government to ensure that student complete senior secondary school, before writing their external exams. (NAN)
