Some look respectable from the gate.

Painted walls.

A signboard with moral slogans.

Uniforms neatly displayed on a banner.

But once the gate closes behind a child, the story can change.

For schools that are not the multi million naira institutions, conditions are often hidden from parents.

Dormitories overcrowded.

Mattresses thin and tired.

Windows broken or barely ventilated.

Toilets overused and under cleaned.

Parents pay fees believing they are buying discipline and structure.

Sometimes what is delivered feels closer to confinement.

Stories circulate quietly in Port Harcourt.

Children falling sick and not treated quickly.

Bullying ignored until it becomes violence.

Punishments that go beyond correction.

Schools rarely admit fault.

Reputation is protected first.

My brother experienced something similar not long ago.

The torment did not only come from fellow students.

It came from people employed to supervise him.

Adults meant to protect.

Adults paid to care.

There is a particular kind of betrayal in that.

Parents send their children away believing distance will build character.

Sometimes distance only builds silence.

How many children have to come back withdrawn before questions are asked?

How many incidents must trend online before accountability becomes normal?

You pay fees.

You trust the system.

You assume oversight exists.

But if inspections are weak and complaints are dismissed, who is really watching these schools.

Boarding school is supposed to prepare children for the world.

It should not feel like something they survived.

In Port Harcourt today, before paying that next term’s fees, maybe the better question is this.

Do we really know what happens after visiting hours end?