According to Gitnux, there are well over 100,000 schools across Nigeria… With the way things are these days, you could think that there are over 100,000 schools in Abuja alone and no one would be shocked.

For every street you walk into, there’s a minimum of 2 school billboards ready to greet you, alongside promises of “excellence”, “professionalism”, and “a bright future for your children”. But with so many options, how can you tell the 1 good apple from the 10 bad ones?

In this article, we will share three ways to recognise a good school using the basic information you can glean from the school. We will also give you questions you can ask each school you’re considering in order to ascertain whether or not it’s a good fit for you and your children.

Without further ado, the first way you can discern a good school is if they:

Prioritize Educating Learners

This most likely sounds abundantly obvious, after all, what school doesn’t teach their children? However, teaching and educating are quite different. Oxford Languages defines “teach” as to “show or explain to (someone) how to do something” while “educate” means to “give intellectual, moral, and social instruction to (someone, especially a child), typically at a school or university”.

See where I’m going with this?

A good school prioritises imparting a holistic education to your child, one that caters to a learner’s strengths and guides them to overcome their weaknesses, and one that pays attention to each child’s unique learning style, as opposed to simply working towards covering the entire syllabus by the end of the term.

Questions you could ask:

• How do you implement learning styles in this school?
• What curriculums do you offer and why?
• How do you handle a child who falls behind in one or more subjects?

As previously stated, education involves a holistic approach to growth, which includes moral, social and spiritual instruction, therefore the second way to discern a good school is if they:

Prioritize Instilling Good Values

Children and teenagers spend an average of 8 hours in school every day, 5 days a week, not counting extra lessons, school events, and sometimes even summer school. That’s a lot of time spent in a place that could potentially make or mar your child’s value system, hence the need for proper scrutiny of a school’s value system and their dedication to living it out, and instilling it into their learners.

There are quite a few good schools in Abuja that are known to instill values of excellence, responsibility, and compassion. Jewels Leading Lights International, for example, known for being a Christian school in both name and action, imposes a Biblical viewpoint into every lesson, ensuring to give learners the secular view, alongside what the Bible says about the topic.

When schools are this dedicated to instilling good values into children, you can be rest assured that your child will not only grow up academically sound, but morally robust enough to stand for what is right and be a good addition to society.

Questions to ask:

• What does this school believe in, and how do you live it out?
• What disciplinary actions are in place for children who break the rules?
• How do you ensure good values are being taught to learners while still maintaining freedom of thought and expression on their end?

Academic excellence and moral upstanding are non-negotiable, but all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, so the third way to discern a good school is if they:

Prioritize Fun

Any school worth enrolling your child in should be able to recognise and enforce a healthy balance between curricular activities and co-curricular activities. After-school clubs, games, sports, and break times are irreplaceable in the journey towards raising happy and well-rounded learners.

Questions to ask:

• What co-curricular and sports facilities are available in this school?
• Do you provide enough room to identify and help nurture my child’s natural talent?
• How many breaks do students get each day?

It would also help to book a tour with the school to thoroughly investigate these things and confirm for yourself.

Those are three ways you can discern whether or not a school is good enough to trust with your children. Choosing a good school is more important than ever, and it is not something that should be left to chance. Take your time, do your research, and as Proverbs 16:3 says “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.”

Looking for a school that meets all this criteria and more? Book a school tour today and ask us every question you have. We can’t wait to meet you!