The Lagos State Government has launched a comprehensive, state-wide enumeration of all private schools, an initiative aimed at creating a detailed and up-to-date database for educational planning and policy development.
The project, spearheaded by the Office of Education Quality Assurance (OEQA) under the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, was announced during the week.
According to the OEQA Coordinating Director, Remi Abdul, the exercise has the full support of the Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Jamiu Alli-Balogun.
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Abdul explained that the enumeration goes beyond a simple count; it is a strategic effort to gather “accurate, current, and comprehensive information” on all private educational institutions in the state.
This data, he noted, will be crucial for informed decisions on policy, resource allocation, and overall sector-wide strategy.
Key information to be collected includes school identity, infrastructure details, human resources, and student demographics such as enrollment by age, gender, and class.
The exercise is designed to provide accurate statistics, establish baselines for improving standards, and foster stronger collaboration among the government, private schools, and development partners like UNICEF and UNESCO.
School proprietors are being asked to designate Education Management Information System (EMIS) Officers to assist OEQA field officers during the process.
Abdul assured school owners that the data collection will not disrupt academic activities and that all information will be handled with the utmost confidentiality, strictly for planning purposes.
He highlighted the benefits for participating schools, which include official recognition in the state’s educational database, access to government support programs and training, and opportunities for networking.
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The collected data will also serve as a baseline for quarterly updates to reflect changes in student and teacher populations.
The announcement was made at the OEQA Conference Room and was attended by senior officials from the agency and representatives from various private school associations, signaling a collaborative approach to the project.
