Lagos Shuts Sub-standard Private Schools

The Director General, Office of Education Quality Assurance, Lagos State Ministry of Education, Mrs. Ronke Soyombo recently embarked on an enforcement exercise to the six education districts in the state to close down substandard schools and to give them relocation notice.

The move was to ensure quality teaching and learning in conducive, healthy and secured school environment for pupils.

Soyombo reiterated the state government’s commitment towards providing good education for pupils of private primary and secondary schools in conducive and secured environment through zero tolerance for substandard schools in the state.

“The Lagos State government is committed to ensuring standard, quality education and safeguarding pupils across schools in the state. The enforcement exercise is to ensure strict compliance to the state ministry of education’s approved guidelines of ensuring conducive and standardised environment, quality teaching and learning, safeguarding and child protection practice.”

Soyombo said the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Mrs Idiat Oluranti Adebule frowns at the operation of a school in a residential building for security, safeguarding and child protection reasons, inadequate classrooms, school compound used as church and inadequate toilet facilities.

Other areas of dis-affection, the director general said include insecurity of lives and properties due to structural defect, dirty and unkept environment not conducive for effective teaching and learning and unapproved schools.

She advised owners of schools where closure and relocation notice were placed to desist from removing the notices as such act attracts strict sanctions and prosecution by the state government. She advised parents to desist from taking their wards to substandard private schools because of the danger inherent therein.

“The enforcement exercise is continuous therefore prospective and aspiring school owners are encouraged to visit the office of education quality assurance website for guidelines in setting up a school in order to avoid operating below the minimum operational standard.

In another development, the state government has directed public and private schools to resume academic activities for the 2017/2018 session on September 11.

A statement by the Office of Education Quality Assurance said “all proprietors and school administrators are to ensure compliance to the Lagos State Government unified resumption date and the 2017/2018 school calendar while students in boarding schools are expected to return on September 10.”

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