Okon Bassey in Uyo
Worried by the poor state of facilities in some schools, the Akwa Ibom State Government has closed down 782 private schools, including a polytechnic.
Operators of the affected schools were accused of operating illegally without any valid license from the state ministry of education.
The Commissioner for Education, Pastor Paul Udofia, personally led a task force to close down some of the schools identified to have operated illegally in the state across the three senatorial districts.
He said owners of the affected schools were operating out of tune with the regulatory framework of the state government and observed that some of the illegal schools lack qualified teachers, while some operated from uncompleted structures and lacked recreational and tailored facilities.
According to him, “any proprietor, teacher or student found within the premises at the return inspection will be arrested.â€
He said the state government is desirous of making the education sector functional through approved framework guiding it and warned that the private schools’ proprietors that are in the habit of establishing educational institutions at will would be made to face the full weight of the law.
Udofia, who expressed delight for being able to identify the illegal schools in the state, urged the monitoring task force to ensure that no stone was left unturned in the process of fishing them out.