National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Abia State chapter, has warned that private schools in the state who failed to upgrade their standard risk closure.
The secretary of the chapter, Marshall Ochionu, handed down the warning while speaking to LEADERSHIP at the 2025 NAPPS Day celebration in Umuahia, the state capital.
Ochionu was responding to a question on the likely consequences of the ongoing general overhauling of public schools by the state government on private schools.
”It is a welcome development as it is also a challenge for the private schools to improve their standard along with what the government is doing.
”Most of us are sole proprietors and don’t have the financial muscle to complete with the government, nevertheless, we must do the needful to remain afloat,” he stated.
Ochionu, therefore, urged the State government to consider areas it could assist the private schools to upgrade their standards to meet the expectations in the sector.
He argued that as co-partners with the government in the development of the state, such interventions would go a long way to encourage private enterprise.
He denied the assertion that private schools were the major culprits in the decline of Igbo language.
According to him, those who make the assertion should understand that “we’re living in a mixed society where English language is the commonest means of communication.”
”We’re doing our best to ensure our pupils and students speak Igbo. We encourage them and make sure they register for it in examinations,” he added.
