Eight reasons you should still change your child’s school

The decision to change a child’s school is sometimes a hard one to make, and that could be due to many reasons. Sometimes, it could be that the child has been used to the school or whether there are no suitable alternatives, among many other reasons.

In many parts of the country, it’s just few days to resumption for a new session, and a lot of parents would already have made a decision on whether to change their children’s school or not, but experts have said it’s never too late to make that decision, especially when it has to do with the well-being and the future of such children.


Therefore, below are certain things that could still influence such decision, even if belated;

If you find out the school is not registered: It has been observed that some private schools operate without licence from government, and some of them have even been in operation for long without being detected. Thus, it is incumbent on parents to independently verify the legality of the school their child attends. In fact, it was somewhat surprising few months ago when the Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Idiat Adebule, disclosed that out of the about 17,000 private schools operating in the state, only 5,105 were approved, meaning that the remaining 11,895 schools were operating illegally. Thus, it’s never too late to withdraw a child from a school that is not approved by government, even if the discovery was made on the day of resumption, because such schools stand the risk of being closed down, which would inadvertently lead to regret and a colossal waste of the child’s time.


If the school has a bad reputation: There are schools that are known for hooliganism and examination malpractice, and such a notion does not help any student that graduates from such schools. In fact, there are times examination bodies like the West African Examination Council and the National Examination Council place a red alert on them, such that in general examinations, answer sheets from such schools attract special attention and are deeply scrutinised. Therefore, parents who discover such about their child’s school could still go ahead to withdraw their child from there, especially when there is nothing they could singlehandedly do to correct such an impression. A psychologist, Prof. Toba Elegbeleye, said, “If there are unanticipated occurrences that seem to smear the image of the school, and if the damage is done beyond a reasonable limit, parents could consider withdrawing their child from such a school.”

If your child keeps complaining about the school’s negative vices: Paediatricians and psychologists have often advised parents not to always dismiss their children’s complaints because there could be substance in them. Whether before or during the holiday or now that it has ended, if a child keeps complaining about negative influences in school, like abuse from teachers or caregivers, lackadaisical attitude of the teachers to the pupils’ well-being or presence of reptiles in or around the school and the school didn’t seem to be doing much to address it, especially if the child does not look forward to resumption, based on the issues raised, perhaps such parents should not only investigate the reservations expressed by such a child, they could also consider changing the child’s school, for the child’s overall well-being.


If the child is not improving academically: While a school might not be to blame when a child does not seem to be making progress in their academic work, given the issues of lack of seriousness and psychological imbalance on the part of the child, there are also instances when the school might be responsible, maybe due to lack of good teachers, outdated curriculum or poor assertiveness in handling the children. Thus, if parents, after due investigation, are able to ascertain that the school is contributing to their child’s woes, because a child’s academic performance could sometimes be a reflection of the kind of school they attend, they are advised to change the child’s school without delay, especially if it seems that the school is not making efforts to improve. Elegbeleye said, “This is one of the main reasons parents should not contemplate changing the school of their children, especially if they could ascertain that the school had not been doing enough. So, if the child is not performing well and it’s traceable to the school, parents can withdraw their child.”

If you can no longer afford the bills: Without doubt, every parent loves to have their children in good schools, but sometimes most of such good schools do not come cheap. But, with the current economic situation in the country, parents who can no longer afford such expensive schools could as well look out for cheaper schools that are good academically. Given that sustaining a child in an expensive school goes beyond paying the school fees, as there might be need for excursion, project materials and gadgets; therefore, parents who know they might not be able to cope with the huge financial burden could opt for cheaper ones, and they could support that with arranging a tutorial class for such a child.

Elegbeleye said, “If there is a drop in the income of the parents or they have other responsibilities to cater to, maybe other children are now in school, they could change the child’s school, but make sure that the child’s academic performance does not reduce as a result of that. It could be a hard decision to take, but it could be the sustainable choice.”

If you sense your child is unrepentantly keeping bad company: Any parent could summarily dismiss this factor as not sufficient to withdraw a child from a school, as they tend to rely on the training they give the child at home. But given the enormous impact bad company could have on a child’s future, parents who observe that their child seem to be keeping bad company and are finding it difficult to discourage him from keeping such friends, could take a more drastic option by withdrawing the child from the school, and taking them to one where morals are the hallmark and such peer pressure would not be present.

If the school is located in unfriendly environments: Due to abysmal enforcement of planning laws, there are schools that are located close to brothels, certain drinking joints where people drink and inhale all kinds of substances and motor parks that could expose them to all kinds of negative things, especially when such joints came after the school had been established. Parents who observe that such environment could have a negative impact on their child should not hesitate to withdraw them from such a school. Elegbeleye added, “If a school is overtaken by environmental exigencies or attacks, like kidnapping, parents could decide to have a change of school.”

If the school has traits of religious extremism: Due to the overbearing religious proclivity of certain school administrators, there have been instances where pupils have been brainwashed or inducted into certain societies in school. In fact, the case of Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the September 11, 2001 deadly attack on the United States, was quite instructive. His mother, in her first interview since his death and the attack, in August revealed that her son was radicalised in the university. The woman, Alia Ghanem, said bin Laden who was in his 20s, was radicalised while studying Economics at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah. If someone in his 20s could be radicalised, then pupils are therefore not spared. Therefore, parents who observe strange religious awareness or beliefs in their child should pay more attention, and if such persists, even after formal complaints to the school, they could consider withdrawing the child from the school.















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