The list is not exhaustive. No list is ever exhaustive, so the conditions you see here almost cover the rest.



1. The Age of your Ward: This is very important because before you send your child to any school, its age has to be considered. Is your boy a five year old, or a twelve-year old? Surely, you wouldn’t want to send your child of eight to a boarding school, just because when you were his age, you ‘had already seen life’.

2. Distance between the School & your Home : This applies to day students. If a school is very far from your home, then it might affect your child’s performance. Yes, there might be a school bus or you might drive them every morning but seriously; students start their day off bored when they have to travel 5 miles to school (which is not advisable). How about a traffic situation comes up on the road and they get to school when lessons have already commenced? Or, what if after school he gets home by six pm, because the school bus broke down? This will of course affect his/her studies. The best you can send your child to is a nearby school where he or she can move to and from easily.

3. Your Pocket: When enrolling your ward in a school, your financial stand should be top on the list. You can’t train that beautiful girl in Queens College with a 50k salary. Also, if you earn ten times that amount, you can’t possibly send her to Community Development Grammar School, Diobu; because you have the finances and your child deserves the best. So, send your child to a school where you can foot the bills without so much effort. Trust me, it’s embarrassing to see your child being sent home for school fees while his mates are learning. So plan your child’s education based on your income.


4. Track history of the School: Consider how students who graduated from that school have performed over time. Are the teachers morally capable of handling your child? I’m sure you don’t want to send your precious child to that school that has turned out more cultists than graduates, or more pregnant teenagers than nurses. Look at the achievements of the school before you let them have your child. Also in this case, you have to look at the school’s performance in competitions, external examinations such as SSCE, NECO and so on. If the school has a record of failure, then don’t encourage them with your child’s future.

5. School Facilities: Even if everyone can’t afford to send their child to ‘big men’ schools with standard sports facilities, well stocked library, laboratory and maybe air conditioning systems, at least your child’s case is not the worst. Therefore, look for a modest school to send him/her to. A school should have at least a laboratory, a library (no matter how small), and facilities such as good seats, fans and airy classrooms to enhance learning. Any school without these basic facilities should not have your child as its student.