Muslim school owners trained on survival strategies

Proprietors of Muslim schools were recently in Lagos exposed to strategies that could help them to remain in operations notwithstanding the economic conditions facing the country.

They were trained under the platform of League of Muslim School Proprietors (LEAMSP), Lagos state chapter and this year’s training, which is an annual event with the theme ‘Survival for private schools in a depressed economy,’ was the 12th in the series.

The guest lecturer, who is the Managing Director of Penckers School, Isolo, Lagos, Mr. Faizol Zuglool, identified four major stakeholders that every school owner must holds in high esteem and give priority to remain viable.

They are, according to him, God, students, employees and parents.

He explained that in addition to prayer unto God to grant success, school owners must also give best to students to justify their payment and why venturing into the industry, remunerate employees well and reward those outstanding among them excellence, as well as be kind-hearted and friendly to parents, especially who may find it difficult to pay their children’s school fees.

Speaking on “Professionalism as a means of survival for private schools in any economic condition,” Zuglool pointed out that school owners must run their schools professionally and not as business venture.

He also want them to strive to engage in local and internal collaborations with relevant institutions and comply with best world practices in the industry, saying that would their schools competitive globally.

On his part, the Lagos state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni who spoke on ‘School Security and Safety,’ advised school owners to always be security conscious in and around the schools.

He said in as much as the police would not relent in protecting lives and property of citizens including those in schools, he would want school managers to always conduct background checks of people to be employed especially as security personnel in their schools.

“I would also want you to always restrict movement of people, especially visitors to your schools and properly screen them and know their identities before allowing them into your schools irrespective of their acclaimed status,” he added.

Earlier in their separate speech, both the National President and Lagos Chairman of LEAMSP, Messrs Taiwo Tijani and Raheem Fatai respectively, said the essence of the annual LEAMSP’s summit was to sharpen members’ knowledge and skills for improved performance and competitiveness in the sector

The duo, however, lamented that the current harsh economic condition in the country had really taking huge toll on their operations.

They asked government to fast-track the strategies to bring back the economic prosperity of the country.