HOW TO SET UP A SCHOOL IN NIGERIA

EDUCATION

SCHOOL   SET UP FULL

PLAN AND OUT LAY

INTRODUCTION

1.     WHY SCHOOL?

Nursery and Primary school business in Nigeria has become more profitable these days than ever before due to the number of children that are born every day. With such increase in the number of children born yearly — comes the need for more Nursery and Primary schools that will cater for them, and the need for even more will continue over time.

In those days, a single government or missionary owned primary school in a community would be just enough to cater for the children of the entire community. Then, there was no need for private nursery and primary schools. Today, the story has changed — no single primary or nursery school would be able to take care of the entire kids in a community, especially in urban places like Lagos and Abuja.

2. WHAT IS THE OUT LOOK        (ROI)

It has also become the general perception that the standard of education in privately owned and managed schools are higher compared to that of the ill-equipped and badly maintained government owned schools.

Sending ones children to public schools is equally regarded as evidence of poverty. Therefore, every parent struggle to send their children to any available private school, doesn’t matter if that one is even worse than the public school as long as it is called ‘Private school’. These general trends has combine to make investment into nursery and primary school a worthwhile investment.

I’ve seen someone who only manages to feed few years ago become a millionaire through the small nursery and primary school he borrowed money to start.

Some of the lowest nursery and primary schools in area like Lagos charge nothing less than N7,000 as school fees, while good ones charge from N30,000 to as much as N500,000 school fees per term (I pay N75,000 for my 3years old daughter per term)just to learn A.B.C

If in your school you charge N10,000 per term and you have 200 pupil, the amount you’ll be getting from school fees is 10,000 x 200 = 2,000,000 Naira per term and it wouldn’t take you more than a million Naira to run such school every term. Its an investment no good entrepreneur will want to turn a blind eye

SITE ?

 This is the most important aspect of this plan, failure to adopt a qualitative yardstick in the determination of the Site of the school, will almost if not completely destroy the investment.

Therefore it is imperative to consider the following when looking for a good site for the school

1.     Population of an area

2.     Distance from the town

3.     Closeness of a competing institution especially established ones

4.     Regulatory hindrances that will prevent the school from been registered e.g closeness to factory of effluent discharge point

5.     Proximity to highway

6.     Proximity to offices and business district especially for day care and crèche

7.     Security

RECOMMENDATION:  POACH a good senior staff from a reputable private school in the locality to help with the badly needed intelligence so as to get the appropriate information about the location  to site the school. he/she will also serve as an asset as the school moves from idea to reality

REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

Guidelines for the registration of schools differ from one state to another but the complex  ones are provided below:

1.     CAC (corporate affairs commission registration ) note some state require an educationist preferably a PhD holder in education to be on the board

2.     Three years tax clearance (evidence of tax payment )will be required when submitting the form

3.     In the event the construction of the school will involve large earth moving equipment some state will require an environmental impact assessment (EIA)

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OFPRIVATE SCHOOLS

  

1.The Proprietor/ Proprietress shall write a letter of intent.

   2 The Proprietor/ Proprietress shall attend an interview.

   3The Proprietor/ Proprietress shall obtain an application form

   4Facilities inspection shall be conducted on the proposed school

5.Based on the report of 4 above, interim approval shall be given.

6.The proprietor shall commence the process for the employment of teacher sand admitted students.

7.The registration form shall automatically lapse if not processed within one calendar year of purchase and therefore due for repurchase.

8.It shall be noted that an intending proprietor shall ascertain the proposed name of the school with the concerned (Local Inspector of Education) LIE before such name is finally accepted and submitted to the Ministry to avoid duplication..

The LIE shall ensure that the name is not duplicated within the same local Government Area or state as the case may be .

9.The intending proprietor is expected to fulfill all statutory revenue obligations to the government before approval is granted.

 

10 On no account shall any Proprietor relocate or duplicate the school without due approval from the ministry of education.

11.Proprietors cannot operate schools (Annex) without satisfying all the necessary condition for the establishment of such schools.

12.Clearance shall be obtained from the ministry of works and transport as regards the suitability of the building as well as ministry of Health / Local government on the environmental condition of the site.

13 The provisional Approval granted by the Honorable commissioner may be revoked if the school is no longer run in accordance with the laid down guidelines. In addition, the following photograph shall be provided

14 Photograph of the proprietor(2)

Photographs of the school building-whole. Left, right,& back view

Photograph of each of the classroom

Photographs of the pupil and teachers toilets (female/male).

Photographs of the source of water and electricity.

Photographs of recreational facilities.

Photographs of adjacent buildings showing front, left side, right side and back views.

 

ESTABLISHMENT OF NURSERY SCHOOL FACILITIES

·        It shall be free from any type of danger to lives of the children and staffs

·        It shall be free from heavy traffic, factory and deports where inflammable materials are kept.

·        It shall be securely fenced round for safety of the children.

·        9m x 15m space shall be provided for playground, recreational facilities and future expansion.

·        The school shall be at least 1km away from an existing private Nursery/ Primary school in the neighborhood.

·        The minimum dimension of the classroom shall be 7m x 4m x 3m. Also, approval shall be granted to any school occupying or that intends to occupy any uncompleted building or structure, well-constructed and adequately ventilated. The building shall not be shared with any other tenants.

·        The buildings shall be plastered and painted.

·        The floor covering shall be concrete.

·        Arrangement of classroom shall encourage free movement

SAMPLE OF THE FORM FOR REGITRATION IS ATTACHED

RECOMMENDATION

1.     Determine where the school should be located between Abuja and Niger

2.     Begin the process of registration by obtaining the handbook or brochure and filling the relevant documentation

3.     Purchase or rent a suitable building and or erect some set of classrooms and offices at a site if available.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

 

Advertisement and Awareness

As a way of marketing our services to the target market we should ensure that awareness is created all over the state. Local newspaper, radio jingles, bill boards and posters will be an excellent tool to advertise our services to our targeted clients.

COST

s/no	Media Platform	QUANTITY	COST	TOTAL
1	Internet school website	1	70,000	70,000
2	Radio jingles		15000	15,000
3	Posters	100	5000	5000
4	Billboards	3	25,000 each	75000
5	Pamphlets’	20000	3000	3000
	Grand Total			N 168,000

SCHOOL BUILDING

 

SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND FACILITIES

 The school building should be constructed based on the standard issued by ministry of work, land and or  Housing of the chosen state ,

The cost of building depends on the size and quality of the building you intends to construct. An Engineer will be able to put you through in this.
Insist on good structure because, your marketing starts from there. The classrooms should be spacious, at least 3.5m square per child under the age of two, at least 2.5m square per child aged two or at least 2.3m square per child aged three to seven.

Most Nursery and Primary school class rooms used to small and jam-packed. Yours shouldn’t be like that. Water is very essential and you need plenty of it in your school, get borehole that will supply you water at all time.

I will recommend the acquisition of 4 plots and above so as to have adequate space for recreation, playground and parking space.

Having a larger area will ensure that the library, Multipurpose laboratory, conference room, reception, and stores can be accommodated without much stress.

 The playing grounds should as much as possible be sited at the center in between opposite buildings while the reception should be located immediately after the entrance, administrative block is located on the two sides of the conference room.

COST

The cost here will vary greatly Depending on  Weather we intend to purchase a building , rent one or construct the school on an already available site, and the state where the building will be located.

Rent : vary between 350,000- 4million per annum depending on the state for a four bedroom apartment

Purchase: 9million to 100million depending on the state and the location

RECOMMENDATION:

1.Rent an accommodation in a very good location and simultaneously acquire good plots in  FCT , NIGER AND KOGI.

This will enable the school to become popular in a very short time and and provide the needed funds to enable the school cater for its need independently. Movement to a permanent site should be considered under the medium and long term goals.

Its important to note that moving to an unknown site for an unknown school will be very disastrous, Don’t buy in isolated area where people are not living, no parent would want to patronize you in such area.

Due the inherent risk involved in child’s movement, parent will prefer a school that is within their home, and for easy pick up of their children.
I will therefore advice against such. 

NB: I could leverage in Kogi using my good contacts in Lokoja and with your influence we could secure good hectares for the future Development of the school.

EQUIPMENT AND TEACHING AIDS

Apart from the normal chairs and tables (which you can get Carpenters to do for you at a very reduced price) you also need to equip your classrooms with computer and other learning aids, parents will be happier to pay when they see that your classes are properly equipped.

You need plenty of toys and other gadgets that is used for children’s education ,You need video and large screen TV in all the classrooms, not to play movies but for playing educational videos and sometimes, cartoon depending on the class and the children’s age.

Buy a school bus if you intend to offer pick and drop which almost compulsory for every school since most parents would demand for it. A nice Tokunbo bus goes for about N900,000-2 Million Depending on its capacity .

Get a decent bus that will speak well of your school, and avoid jam-packing children in a bus.

If one bus isn’t enough buy two, parents are paying you extra for the service, give them the best they deserve. Besides, it’s irritating seeing children packed up in a bus that is not fit for transporting animals let alone human being.

COST

Chair ,Desk, marker boards etc  = 500,000-1,000,000

Office equipment = 200,000- 200,000

Computers and other electronics = 200,000-300,000

School Bus =1,000,000

Multipurpose laboratory = 180,000

Swings =25,000

Merry –go- round =40,000

ACADEMIC AND NON ACADEMIC STAFF

Ass a proprietor of the nursery and primary school, you do not need any formal qualifications but the school manager must have a minimum of NCE and experience in educational administration.

All Teachers should have minimum of NCE and experience in childcare education or play-work. Teachers who are passionate about children are preferred.

NYSC Members will be great source of cheap and experience Labour force .

Note a good command of English language without any form of compromise is not negotiable teachers are a reflection of what to expect from a school bad PR is not good for any business.

 

HUMAN RESOURCES REQUIREMENTS

Academic staff 

Headmaster/Headmistress

Qualification: B.Ed. Education

Experience : 5-10 years working experience in a well-established private school

Responsibilities: She shall be responsible for the day to day management of the school and report directly to the proprietress.

Assistant Headmaster / Head mistress (optional)

Qualification: B.Ed. Education

Experience:3 years working Experience in managerial field.

Responsibilities: He or She shall assist the headmaster on academics and administrative issues and report directly to her.

Teaching staff 

Qualification: NCE/B.ED/B.

Experience: At least 2 years working Experience and registered with teachers’ registration council of Nigeria (TRCN).

Responsibilities: Coordinate and teach the students.

Non-Academic staffs

Non-academic staff 

Secretary/PRO (optional)

Bursar/Accountant

Librarian (optional)

 

Medical staff  (optional but not negotiable for a boarding school)

Technical team( can be out sourced )

Sport Coordinator (delegated to a teaching staff )

Auxiliary Staffs

Nursery Assistants ( very important )

Bus drivers ( non alcohol drinkers and smokers )

Security Men

Gardener

Cleaners (very important)

COST  ANALYSIS

Designation          No          MonthlySalary (N)                  Salary PerAnnum (N)

Head Mistress       1              60,000                                     720,000

Assistant               1              35,000                                             420,000

Teaching Staffs    7               30,000                                             2,520,000

Secretary/PRO      1              30,000                                             360,000

Bursar/ Acct          1              30,000                                             360,000

Nursery Asst         2              12,000                                             288,000

Bus Drivers           2              15,000                                             360,000

Security Men        2              10,000                                              240,000

Cleaners               4               7,000                                               336,000

TOTAL                                                                                                  5,964,000

The average monthly wage bill for a private school ranges from N 120,000-500,000 depending on the class on of staff qualification and grade of the school.