I spent the later years of my school days being so focused on what life would throw on my path when I'm no longer wearing the glittery title of studentship. Haha. Anyone that came across me then would easily think I hated school, but I didn't. Maybe I didn't enjoy the last moments I spent as a student, but school was generally a good learning experience for me.
Talking about Private schools and Public schools, the difference between these two in the part of the country where I grew up is like the difference between day and night... If you know what I mean.
There is still no clear-cut way of knowing which is the best between the two and I genuinely can't be bothered about that either. What I would say is that I've had the best of both experiences in different stages of my academic life. They are as follows;
My Experience with Private Schools;
I got my Primary and Secondary school education from Private schools across two states in the Eastern part of Nigeria.
My primary school was an interesting one with loads of quality teachers who I still exchange pleasantries with whenever I cross paths with them. It was a very competitive schooling experience because the teachers were very diligent in carrying out their duties and the majority of the pupils were fairly intelligent and competitive.
We had an average of 30 pupils in each class and that was a decent number for each teacher to handle. Back then, flogging pupils was never taken as a big issue. Parents wouldn't make bone about that and the school was very interested in disciplining the pupils. So, we had to be on our best behaviour to avoid getting the sticks from teachers.
The standard of teaching in the school made it easy for me to learn as much as possible during classes. I don't remember having to read my books during my primary school. I never did that except when my Mum was doing her best to make me a better mathematician. Haha. Despite never being in the habit of reading my notes, I never missed assignments. I don't joke with that.
My Secondary School was still a Private school, but it was a different ball game. I got admitted into an all-male boarding school and this was one of the most prestigious Secondary Schools in Enugu State. It was more competitive and more strict and we had extreme disciplinarians, including senior students who enjoyed proving that they are 'seniors'.
All these weren't a big deal for me because I'm very good at playing within the letters of the school rules and regulations. The hard part of this stage of my education was that I wasn't in the habit of reading lesson notes. I preferred to read stuff that was not related to what they taught in class. I thought paying attention in class was enough for me to learn, but that only worked in primary school.
After my first midterm test, I had to buckle up and start forcing myself to read things within my syllabus. It paid off afterwards and up to date, I still enjoy reading in any form it may come.
My Experience with Public School;
By the time I was getting set to get into Universities, all my choice of Universities were either Federal or State Universities. I couldn't look at the Private school lane for several reasons ranging from the high cost of passing through such schools to the kinda discipline they promote there which I consider a little too much.
To be fair, there wasn't even any option of going to a Private school. It was either a public school or I wait another year. Haha. Well, I didn't have to wait. I applied and got admitted into the University of Nigeria, a federal Uni. It was one heck of an experience.
One thing I've always heard about public schools is the overwhelming population of students they have in each class. The moment I went for my first lecture, I got to realize that whoever described the number of students as 'overwhelming' was being too kind. Haha. We were too much. Lecture Halls felt like a marketplace. The crowd was utterly indescribable.
The quality of lecturers was fairly balanced. We had some who were good and devoted to bringing out the best in students. We also had the folks who were only interested in making money off their lecture materials. They use their lecture period for aggressive marketing. Haha. Such lectures were never worth the lecture period assigned to them.
One of the biggest nightmares for anyone that passed through public school in tertiary institutions is the incessant strike actions that happen in Nigeria. The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) can't spend a whole session without embarking on strike. This usually affects the expected graduation date of students. Some end up spending 5 years in school for a 4-years course. Hehe.
As it stands, I've had my fair share of both Private and Public schools across several levels of my academic life. Each of the schools I passed through has a role in shaping me into who I am today. I'm sure I would still like to pass through these same schools except if there is an offer to be an International Student. Lolz.
Spanish Version
Pasé los últimos años de mis días de escuela tan concentrada en lo que la vida me depararía cuando ya no llevara el brillante título de estudiante. Ja ja. Cualquiera que se cruzara conmigo entonces fácilmente pensaría que odiaba la escuela, pero no era así. Tal vez no disfruté los últimos momentos que pasé como estudiante, pero la escuela en general fue una buena experiencia de aprendizaje para mí.
Hablando de escuelas privadas y escuelas públicas, la diferencia entre estas dos en la parte del país donde crecí es como la diferencia entre el día y la noche... Si sabes a lo que me refiero.
Todavía no hay una forma clara de saber cuál es el mejor entre los dos y realmente tampoco puedo preocuparme por eso. Lo que diría es que he tenido lo mejor de ambas experiencias en diferentes etapas de mi vida académica. Son los siguientes;
Mi experiencia con las escuelas privadas;
Obtuve mi educación primaria y secundaria en escuelas privadas en dos estados en la parte este de Nigeria.
Mi escuela primaria fue interesante con un montón de profesores de calidad con los que todavía intercambio bromas cada vez que me cruzo con ellos. Fue una experiencia escolar muy competitiva porque los profesores eran muy diligentes en el desempeño de sus funciones y la mayoría de los alumnos eran bastante inteligentes y competitivos.
Teníamos un promedio de 30 alumnos en cada clase y ese era un número decente para que cada maestro lo manejara. En ese entonces, azotar a los alumnos nunca fue un gran problema. Los padres no se preocuparían por eso y la escuela estaba muy interesada en disciplinar a los alumnos. Por lo tanto, teníamos que comportarnos lo mejor posible para evitar recibir palos de los maestros.
El estándar de enseñanza en la escuela me facilitó aprender tanto como fuera posible durante las clases. No recuerdo haber tenido que leer mis libros durante mi escuela primaria. Nunca hice eso excepto cuando mi mamá estaba haciendo todo lo posible para hacerme un mejor matemático. Ja ja. A pesar de que nunca tuve el hábito de leer mis notas, nunca me perdí las tareas. No bromeo con eso.
Mi escuela secundaria seguía siendo una escuela privada, pero era un juego de pelota diferente. Me admitieron en un internado solo para hombres y esta era una de las escuelas secundarias más prestigiosas del estado de Enugu. Era más competitivo y más estricto y teníamos disciplinas extremas, incluidos estudiantes de último año que disfrutaban demostrando que eran 'seniors'.
Todo esto no fue un gran problema para mí porque soy muy bueno jugando dentro de las letras de las reglas y regulaciones de la escuela. Lo difícil de esta etapa de mi educación fue que no tenía la costumbre de leer los apuntes de las lecciones. Prefería leer cosas que no estuvieran relacionadas con lo que enseñaban en clase. Pensé que prestar atención en clase era suficiente para aprender, pero eso solo funcionó en la escuela primaria.
Después de mi primera prueba parcial, tuve que abrocharme el cinturón y comenzar a obligarme a leer cosas dentro de mi plan de estudios. Valió la pena después y hasta la fecha, todavía disfruto leyendo en cualquier forma que venga.
Mi experiencia con la escuela pública;
En el momento en que me estaba preparando para ingresar a las universidades, todas mis universidades elegidas eran universidades federales o estatales. No pude mirar el carril de la escuela privada por varias razones que van desde el alto costo de pasar por esas escuelas hasta el tipo de disciplina que promueven allí que considero demasiado.
Para ser justos, ni siquiera había ninguna opción de ir a una escuela privada. O era una escuela pública o espero otro año. Ja ja. Bueno, no tuve que esperar. Solicité y me admitieron en la Universidad de Nigeria, una universidad federal. Fue una gran experiencia.
Una cosa que siempre he escuchado acerca de las escuelas públicas es la abrumadora población de estudiantes que tienen en cada clase. En el momento en que fui a mi primera clase, me di cuenta de que quien describiera la cantidad de estudiantes como "abrumador" estaba siendo demasiado amable. Ja ja. Éramos demasiado. Lecture Halls se sentía como un mercado. La multitud era absolutamente indescriptible.
La calidad de los disertantes fue bastante equilibrada. Tuvimos algunos que eran buenos y se dedicaron a sacar lo mejor de los estudiantes. También teníamos gente que solo estaba interesada en ganar dinero con los materiales de sus conferencias. Utilizan su período de conferencias para la comercialización agresiva. Ja ja. Tales conferencias nunca valieron la pena el período de conferencias que se les asignó.
Una de las mayores pesadillas para cualquiera que haya pasado por la escuela pública en instituciones terciarias son las incesantes huelgas que ocurren en Nigeria. El Sindicato de Personal Académico de Universidades (ASUU) no puede pasar una sesión entera sin emprender una huelga. Esto generalmente afecta la fecha de graduación esperada de los estudiantes. Algunos terminan pasando 5 años en la escuela para un curso de 4 años. Jeje.
Tal como está, he tenido mi parte justa de escuelas públicas y privadas en varios niveles de mi vida académica. Cada una de las escuelas por las que pasé tiene un papel en convertirme en lo que soy hoy. Estoy seguro de que todavía me gustaría pasar por estas mismas escuelas, excepto si hay una oferta para ser un estudiante internacional. jajaja
Thanks For Not Missing Any Full-stop Or Comma
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I also started in private and was transitioned to state after infant school so experienced both, I think the teachers were the same tbh and I ended up having a friend in sixth form that went to the school I was at and had left and we got the same gcse and a level grades really. The only thing I will say is that I think it’s more about the students you get less peopel messing around at private: I watched a documentary on kids swopping so they spent a week in their opposite school and the private kids were like ‘what are you doing man why do you not want to learn?’ I think behaviour is better and generally you don’t get the kids with parents who just don’t care about their kids education. Even tho my school was a state school it was a good school they also split us into sets so in set one or two you had less troublesome kids. In my personal experience the troublesome kids that everyone thought were cool and the lack of connections are the main difference. I didn’t notice a difference in actual teaching personally.
Hahahah this remind me my days in primary school, when we play alot 😂 life is on transition mehn, interesting content.