2,424 Illegal private primary, secondary and tertiary schools operating without government approval in Benue state have been shut down.
The state commissioner for Education science and Technology Prof. Dennis Ityavyar told journalists that the illegal schools will remain closed untill they secure proper accreditation and approval from the government and other relevant agencies.
He said the decision is in line with the mandate of raising the standard of Education in the state ” The mandate of the ministry is to deliver qualitative and functional education to Benue citizens”. adding that in the discharge of its duties, it has encountered a number of challenges one of which is the proliferation of illegal schools.
His words: “In pursuing our mandate of ensuring that our people have access to qualitative education, we are confronted with the menace of the existence of many schools without the ministry’s approval.”
He added that illegal schools refer to schools that have not been duly certified by the Ministry of Education or have not obtained operational approval for their establishment.
“Illegal schools in our context refer to schools that are yet to obtain phases two (2) and three (3) approvals as in the case of primary and secondary schools, and those without approval of either the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) or National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) in the case of tertiary institutions.”
