COVID-19: Subsidise data for e-learning, school owners tell telcos

Adefioye Iyunade

The National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools has urged the government to approach telecommunications companies to subsidise the amount of money spent on data for virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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In a statement on Sunday, Dr. Bukola Dosumu, a member of the board of trustees, Federal Capital Territory chapter of NAPPS, and CEO of Toddlers Haven, Abuja, said, “Did you know that they (the authorities) are not doing anything about data for schools? Have you seen the Lagos State document released for schools resumption? Obviously, they gave room for online learning to support. [But] what is the government doing about approaching telecoms companies? Can’t they do data reduction for schools?”

Dosumu who is also a former President of NAPPS, lamented that private schools did not receive any palliative from the government, saying most schools were now at the mercy of their creditors (banks) due to the pandemic.

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According to her, most private schools are run on bank loans. Presently, banks have started debiting accounts of private schools even though we have no kobo in them. The accounts are in red, meaning that the moment schools resume, their monies are automatically going to be debited.

“What is the press doing? What are you doing? Are you going to sit down like that and watch private schools suffer? Most teachers have left the sector to look for other jobs.

“Now, they are pushing schools to resume. What have schools got to use for resumption? They say there is a Central Bank of Nigeria loan for schools. How many schools have accessed the loan? They said they would pay the salaries of private schoolteachers. What has been done about it?”

Accusing the government of doing nothing for private and even public schools, Dosumu regretted the state of private schools in Nigeria.