As citizens of a country, we rely on essential services like healthcare, education, transportation, and other utilities to make life easier for us. Some of these services are operated by the government, which is what we refer to as public ownership. On the other hand, others are operated by private companies- private ownership. The big question is; which is better; privately owned services or publicly owned services? Here's how I’d put it; each has its perks and pitfalls, and areas where one is better. In Today’s edition of the Hive Learners prompt, we are asked to share our experiences with the public and private sectors. What are the perks of both sides and which is your preference?
When it comes to education, privately owned establishments are far better than public-owned schools. Growing up, I attended a private high school, and right beside our school, was a public school. I don’t know if this is the case in other places, but one thing I noticed about the school was that they were allowed to do as they pleased. The fact that the school was owned by the government, made the teachers tend to not take their jobs seriously and not care about their students. I’m sure there are public schools that treat and teach their students well, but the one beside my school didn't do justice to it. In contrast, my private school was owned by an individual who was always there to oversee all operations. Our teachers took their jobs seriously and were highly motivated.
After I graduated from high school, I got admission into a public university. One thing about public services is that they rely on the government for funding, which can take time. Most times, these public sectors don’t get the funding they need to carry out projects.
Also, publicly owned services are subjected to political disturbances. Two years ago, my school went on a one-year strike because of issues the lecturers had with the government. That wasn't the first time such a thing happened. My school has been on strike multiple times, wasting the time of students due to small disturbances. On the other hand, private universities are fast and are not affected by these disturbances. I remember getting into the university with some of my friends who attended private universities. While they graduated more than a year ago, I’m still in school because my school was affected by the strikes.
Having established that private services are better than public sectors when it comes to education, I hold a differing view when it comes to healthcare. I am of the school of thought that when it comes to healthcare, public hospitals are better than private ones. My mom works in a public hospital- one of the best in my state, so I've been there and heard so many stories about public hospitals. Also, I've had ugly and sweet experiences in hospitals. With my experiences, I’d choose public hospitals over and over again. Health is wealth and many people fall ill every day. Unfortunately, not everyone can afford treatment at private hospitals because they are really expensive. My school is developing. This means that there are not many facilities there. The nearest private hospital is several kilometers away from my school, but there are two private hospitals around. In times of emergencies, students are forced to go to the private ones. I remember the one time I followed my friend there and they charged a lot (I think about 45 thousand naira) just for drip and medications.
In summary, both private and public services have their advantages and disadvantages. It is all up to individuals to choose whichever works for them. If you have the resources to get treated in a private hospital, then go for it. If you don’t, stick to public ones.
Thanks for reading.
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