Empowering non-state schools to improve quality and ensure compliance through innovative tool

• In Event: Fostering effective and enabling regulation of non-state schools

Proposal

Challenges with registration of non-state schools can be burdensome, unaffordable and most times do not reflect the reality of school operating environments. Often focused on inputs and infrastructure, non-state schools are not even usually aware of all what is required to meet minimum standards. On the other hand, the government usually lacks the capacity to oversee and monitor non-state schools. It has become apparent that a system is required for schools to keep track of regulatory and quality requirements and help understand their school improvement needs.

An innovative school development and continuous improvement tool has been developed to assess the school’s quality and compliance with regulations, and to provide a pathway for improvement. The tool helps school leaders understand their strengths and weaknesses and comply with regulations, and provides them with critical information to embark on the journey of school transformation. The tool breaks down the overwhelming concept of school regulations and quality into smaller, more manageable problems that can be solved through simple interventions, making visible the “invisible” factors of school regulations and quality in the shape of simple to understand indicators. It encourages school leaders to participate and own their school transformation journey, and provides a clear line of sight of how to get there.

The organization that created this tool has a network of over 700 non-state schools in Nigeria and will be sharing experiences of some of these schools based on their pilot program. They will be sharing how their School Transformation Program (using the quality assessment tool as the baseline) helped schools to comply with regulations, put them on the pathway to full government approval and ultimately provide quality education for the children they serve.

Author

• Olanrewaju Oniyitan, SEED Care & Support Foundation