Factors Affecting Private versus Public School Decisions
Public primary schools are schools that are provided by state
funding. More than ninety percent of the primary school children today in
Rwanda attend public primary schools. Private primary schools are primary
schools which are funded by private persons (parents) or private institution
(e.g. Churches). Clearly, there are many more public schools that provide
education to Rwandese pupils than their counterparts private.
Availability and Adequacy of Educational
Resources
On the availability and adequacy of school resources, it is
obvious that in Rwanda as in any other third world country, private schools are
more favored than public ones. Considering the relationship between educational
resources and students' academic performance, teacher's qualification and
adequate facilities may be determinants of assessing academic performance of
students. Hence the availability or non-availability of facilities and their
adequacy in schools have an effect on the academic performance of pupils in
primary schools of Rwanda. This is in agreement with some educationalists who
believe that teaching materials facilitate teaching and learning activities,
which result in effective teaching and improve academic performance. The
school is an essentially human organization; because it has human operatives,
clients and products, hence students' performance has positive relationship
with the quality of teachers. The importance of adequate staffing of a school
is clearing demonstrated by the way parents continue to drift from one school
to another in search of school with better -qualified teachers. For efficient
educational management, facilities help the school to determine the number of
pupils to be accommodated, number of teachers and non-teaching personnel to be
employed and the cost determination for the efficient management of the system.
The school climate is determined by the resources, especially class rooms
under which the teachers and pupils operate which influences attitude in
teaching and learning. Un-conducive classroom creates stress on teachers and
pupils resulting in negative attitude toward school and learning by pupils.
Facilities below approved standard could also lead to reduction in quality of
teaching and learning in schools causing poor pupils' academic performance.
The school environment affects academic achievement of pupils.
Facilities such as, desks, seats, chalkboard, teaching aids, and cupboard are
ingredients for effective teaching and learning. A good education policy or
programmed to guarantee quality outputs, it must be serviced
optimally with appropriate trained and motivated teaching staff, adequately
supplied with necessary facilities and equipment.
In other words, a good school must have adequate resources
which may be divided into three categories: Financial resources, human
resources and physical (material) resources.
The human resources are teachers and the non-teaching staff,
and physical resources mean facilities including classrooms, desks, toilets,
offices, books and teaching aids; all these resources cannot be acquired
without financial resources.
Because public schools are required to admit all students, the
students attending them paint a picture of the community they come from. As
such, there is often a diverse mixture of backgrounds present in public
schools. Private schools tend to be more homogenous due to the admission and
selection process and the type of student that will apply to take part in a
private school based on its reputation. One common reason for sending a child
to private school is the smaller class sizes. Private schools can afford to
keep class sizes small, thus providing more frequent interaction and attention
on the teacher-student level which is a desirable feature. When the law says
that all children have the right to be educated, this includes students with
special needs. Public schools offer education programs for those who are
physically or mentally handicapped in some fashion and provide teachers who are
qualified to work with these needs. As mentioned before, private schools can
admit or deny an applicant based on their own criteria, and this includes
special educational needs. Although there are some private schools intended
solely for those with these needs, many private schools do not accept special
education cases.
As stated above, when looking at public or private schools,
the following factors come into play: Academic reputation and college
preparation, school size and class size, safety reputation, special programs,
costs, religious and moral instruction, location, ideology.
Academic Reputation and College
Preparation
Academic reputation plays a big role when considering
private versus public schools. Unfortunately for most families, children must
go to the public school that their home is zoned in. Usually there is a
perceived or statistically supported issue with a public school's academic
record that flags a parent's concern and willingness to move their child into a
private school. Private schools usually have a more rigorous academic
reputation but this depends upon the country and the education level. For
example, in Rwanda, private primary schools have a more rigorous academic
reputation than public ones while there is an opposite phenomenon at secondary
school level. However, there is exception in lower catholic seminaries because
they have a more rigorous academic reputation as their students are the best
performers at O' and A-level leaving examinations. In fact, students who are
enrolled in private secondary schools are those who have failed the PLE as
those who succeed are immediately admitted into public secondary schools. For
the lower catholic seminaries, students are chosen among the best pupils before
the PLE are passed.
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