The Rivers State government has begun the shutdown the 1,866 private primary and secondary schools in the state as it had threatened, but many say the government had rather given extension of time. So far, 40 schools have been closed in Obio/Akpor Local Council Area while about 37 have been shut down in Eleme LGA. Over 20,000 teachers and other staff members are now stranded.
The state government had threatened to ban the operation of 1,866 illegal schools in 23 local government areas of the state. Few weeks ago, the government ordered them to pay between N100,000 and N350,000 as application fees to stay for one year to upgrade. Many rushed to do this, but on September 11, 2017, most of the schools were shut down.
Right now, security agents are going around looking for proprietors and teachers of unregistered schools. The development has created a huge confusion in the oil-rich state.
While everyone believes the action on September 11, 2017, was in fulfillment of Governor Nyesom Wike’s order for unregistered schools to be shut down, few others close to the Ministry of Education say it was because the schools did not resume for academic activities on the date stipulated by the state government, September 11, thus showing that they did not want to obey the government.
The Commissioner of Education, Kaniye Ebeku, a professor, however, explained that the action was carried out on the instructions of the governor, who ordered that all unapproved illegal schools ceased operation with effect from September 1, 2017.
The commissioner also assured that the ban will be effectively enforced. Further speaking, he said that the ban affects not only the listed schools, but prohibit the operation of other unlisted unapproved schools, implying that no private school would operate without approval.
As a result of the action, parents and guardians have been advised to check for the list containing the names of the banned schools before paying school fees.
The commissioner stated that the ban was carried out on the grounds that many schools operating in the state were substandard. The Ministry of Education has prerequisites for the operation of schools of which this banned schools were lacking, he said.
The said schools have no conducive learning environments, he added, saying they lacked learning materials, equipment and qualified teachers.
“All these put together leads to the poor quality of education in the state. Worst of all, these schools do not pay taxes to the government,” he said.
Many of the affected schools blamed the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) in the state for their lack of sincerity and transparency in leadership.
Chioma Precious said that government deserves a medal backing it words with actions, saying this would discourage mediocrity in the educational system and lead to an improvement in the standard of education.
She also emphasized that strong measures be put in place to ensure that schools meet up with the educational standards expected in the state.
Uzoma Orji, a private school operator in Port-Harcourt, said that she was happy due to the extension of the date of the closure of unapproved private schools. She said this would help the schools that have not been approved to improve their schools to standard.
Another private school operator Miba Dappa said the scheme of work of most of the unapproved private schools is mostly not in line with that of the government. She said using a scheme that is not approved by the government affects students negatively, especially during exams.
She also stressed the need for the government to send inspectors from the Ministry of Education to inspect what the teachers are doing. She disclosed that qualified educationalists are not found in most unlicensed private schools and that their laboratories are also not equipped.
She advised parents and guardians to enroll their children and wards in approved schools in the state.
Kelechi Anozie, Port-Harcourt
