As school resumption in Nigeria 2025 begins, education experts warn parents to focus on safety, infrastructure, and overcrowding to protect their children

As public and private schools across Lagos, Ogun, Kwara, and other states reopen today, 15 September 2025, for the first term of the 2025/2026 academic session, experts are urging parents to look beyond uniforms and tuition — and focus on the safety and dignity of their children’s learning environments.

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From leaking roofs to overcrowded classrooms and porous school fences, many schools across Nigeria are still grappling with basic issues that experts say pose serious risks to both learning and student welfare.

In exclusive interviews with Punch Online, three education stakeholders issued fresh warnings and offered practical tips for parents navigating this year’s school resumption.

According to Mrs Lateefat Alli-Oluwafuyi, Head of School at Offspring Ilm School, Ilorin, poor infrastructure remains one of the biggest threats to education quality in Nigeria.

“A child sitting on the floor or under a leaking roof already feels abandoned by the system before even opening a book,” she lamented.

She described the physical condition of many schools as “demoralising,” with cracked walls, broken desks, and inadequate sanitation now the norm in both rural and urban settings.

Alli-Oluwafuyi called on governments and private school owners to invest in urgent renovation, while also advising parents to speak up and demand improvements from local education authorities.

Security expert and school administrator, Alhaji Muhammad Adeyemi, Principal of O.LAMURS School of Basic Ethics and Ethnic Studies, warned that many Nigerian schools still lack basic safety protocols — a major concern in today’s climate of abductions and rising insecurity.

“Many schools have no perimeter fencing, no guards, and no system to verify who picks up children at closing time. That is dangerous,” he said.

Adeyemi urged parents to set clear instructions with school administrators: no unauthorised person should be allowed to pick up a child.

He also warned parents to scrutinise school transport arrangements, noting that some tricycle and okada operators engage in reckless or even substance-influenced driving.

“Don’t just assume a school bus is safe. Vet drivers, ask questions, and insist on accountability,” he advised.

Founder of Inventive Tutors, Osogbo, Mr Kabir Isa, raised a red flag on overcrowded classrooms — describing it as a “silent crisis” undermining effective teaching and learning in Nigeria.

“When you pack 90 children into a room built for 30, you’re not teaching — you’re warehousing,” he said.

He noted that in many public schools, classes of 80 to 100 pupils are common, making individual attention impossible and contributing to low performance and health hazards.

Isa urged school authorities, especially in states like Osun, where resumption is set for 22 September, to adopt staggered timetables or split sessions to reduce the strain on classroom facilities.

He also encouraged parents to be proactive:

“Ask how many pupils are in your child’s class. If it’s overcrowded, demand alternatives. Overcrowding kills learning as much as bad infrastructure or insecurity.”

Key Tips for Parents as Schools Resume

• Inspect your child’s school environment — check for leaking roofs, broken desks, cracked walls, and sanitation.
• Verify school pick-up protocols — ensure no one collects your child without your consent and documentation.
• Evaluate transport arrangements — vet drivers, avoid assumptions, and monitor school buses.
• Ask about class sizes — overcrowding reduces learning quality; push for smaller groups or split sessions.
• Hold schools and authorities accountable — demand transparency, safety, and improved infrastructure.

As Nigerian children settle into a new academic year, experts are united in their call for a paradigm shift: resumption should be about more than just dates and uniforms.

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Until schools across the country become truly safe, sanitary, and conducive to learning, the excitement of a new term will remain overshadowed by old systemic problems.