Edo to clampdown on unregistered, substandard private schools

Chairman, Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Rivers State chapter, Dr. Robinson Ebbi (left), with the Deputy Governor of the state, Prof. Ngozi Odu, during a visit to the deputy governor in Port Harcourt…yesterday.

Edo State Government has said it will, from this month, begin clampdown on unregistered and unapproved schools in the state, as part of renewed efforts to sanitise the education system.

The Acting Director General (DG) of Quality Assurance (QA) of the Ministry of Education, Rosaline Okosun, disclosed this during a meeting with leaders and private school owners in the state.

Okosun reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to improving the quality of education in the state, ensuring that every Edo child receives the best education to compete favourably with its peers across the globe.

While stressing that the state government is stepping up monitoring of schools in the state, Okosun said the move is not to witch-hunt anyone, but to ensure quality and standard.

She said 1,716 private schools have been registered in the state, including 920 primary and 796 secondary schools. Okosun said: “We have more than these numbers of schools in Edo. Others are not yet registered, and we are here to work together to ensure all private schools in the state are registered. The state government is concerned about learners and what they will benefit from the educational system. So, it is no longer business as usual.

In attendance at the meeting were members and executives of the state chapters of National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Association for Formidable Development (AFED) and Association of Private Schools of Nigeria (APSON), among others.

She noted that Governor Godwin Obaseki has signed an executive order to establish the Directorate of Quality Assurance, with a focus on raising the standard of education both in private and public schools in the state.

She added: “We must improve standards for better and quality education. Our role is to make you comply with policies put in place to improve the standard of education in the state. We will not allow sub-standard schools. We will also ensure that all schools are registered.

“We will not allow sub-standard schools in Edo. All ‘miracle’ centres, bastardising our education system, must be closed. We will close them all and allow education to thrive in the state. Refusal to register schools would lead to punishment.”