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By Stephen Adeleye.
Kogi Government says it has concluded plans to shut down all illegal, unapproved and sub-standard private schools in the state as from September 2018/2019 Academic Session.
Mrs Rosemary Osikoya, Kogi Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, disclosed this to journalists in Lokoja on Saturday after meeting with the Proprietors of Private Schools across the state.
Osikoya said that the decision was taken by the state government as a way of checking the proliferation of unregistered and unapproved private schools operating illegally across the 21 local government areas of the state.
“All schools are expected to meet the minimum standard of the state’s education policy.
“Why we are trying to review the policy, we are still working with policy that is on ground; and by that policy, a school has to meet a minimum conditions to operate.
“We had a meeting with Proprietors of Private Schools in January and we educate them on the need for all schools to comply with the minimum standard.
“We have given them enough time to do the needful.
“A school that serves as examination centre should have a standard examination hall, and we must see evidence of your permanent site if you are still in a confined apartment; there are a lot of responsibilities for everyone.
“We have conducted the annual school census, and any school that is not in the database of schools that are legally operating in Kogi would be shut down’’, Osikoya reiterated.
The commissioner noted that the ministry had received applications from some schools for approval but a lot of them did not meet the standard.
“We have advised them to go back and put the missing standards in place before the commencement 2018/2019 Academic Session in September. We do hope they all complied.
“We are partnering with the relevant law enforcement agencies for enforcement.
“The learning environment, the safety of our schools, and provision of curriculum are key; we are paying attention to the issue of quality in both public and private schools.
“So, let all stakeholders between now and the end of August put his house together, because it would be enforced when we start school in September by the grace of God’’.
The commissioner called on all parents and private schools to ensure that their children in Basic six were registered for the First School Leaving Certificate Examination (FSLCE) coming up next week.
She added that it was compulsory for all children in both public and private primary schools.
“We have used all the avenues to communicate as much as we could; no child can resume in any secondary school in Kogi without the First School Leaving Certificate.
“FSLCE is entirely different from the Common Entrance Examination’’, she stated.
(NAN)
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