Government threatens shutdown of 2,416 schools
No fewer than 2,416 illegal schools have been discovered operating in Benue State.
The Director General of the Bureau for Education Quality Assurance, Dr. Terna Francis, disclosed this on Monday when he led a team to seal off a private school known as Benedictine Order Academy, located in Nyiman, Makurdi.
According to the DG, aside not meeting the approved standards, the school was also operating in an uncompleted hotel building.
He stated, “We discovered that the school has no curriculum, lesson plans, scheme of work, or qualified teachers and was operating three different schools (nursery, primary, and secondary) within the uncompleted building.
“Benedictine Order Academy, Nyiman is not a registered school, and the government does not approve of its existence,” he added, stressing that the government would not allow any sub-standard school to operate in the state for the safety of the children and the provision of quality education.
He continued, “We have also identified 2,416 illegal schools operating in the state, and we have already issued all the necessary notices to the proprietors to either meet the required standards or shut down.”
Meanwhile, the General Manager of the Benue Urban Development Board, Ternongo Mede, stated that the building housing the sealed school was not fit for a learning environment.
Mede emphasised that every building must pass a fitness test for its desired purpose and urged the government to keep the school sealed.
In response, the founder of the sealed school, Benedictine Order of Peace and Unity Academy Foundation, Rev. Fr. Elias Torugh, said they were working hard to meet the requirements for operating a school.
Torugh explained that they had been in the uncompleted building for only two weeks following their eviction from the Staff Development Centre by the state government.
He acknowledged that the school did not have a conducive learning environment but noted that they planned to stay in the uncompleted hotel building only for the current term.
The school proprietor estimated the population of the schools at 942.
