Benue State Government is set to close down 2,424 schools considered to be operating illegally.
The Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Dennis Ityavyar, made this known on Wednesday, just as he disclosed that the government would soon commence the second phase of closure of illegal schools across the state.
Ityavyar who spoke while receiving the management of New Christian Covenant College, Makurdi, led by the proprietor, Rev. Thomas Shikaan, explained that the quality control committee responsible for the closure would follow the ministry’s already developed template to ensure that illegal schools left during the first phase of the execise were eliminated.
It would be recalled that in August 2017, the ministry had discovered and penciled down 2,424 primary, secondary and tertiary schools operating illegally in the state.
Ityavyar identified 1,975 nursery/primary, 433 secondary and 14 post-secondary schools located in the 23 local government areas of the state as those operating illegally.
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He assured that the children from the affected schools would be moved to the government secondary school in each of the local governments across the state so that they would not miss out in the academic programme.
The commissioner was also presented with the best student in this year’s Joint Admissions And Matriculation Board Examinations JAMB in North Central Nigeria, Master Moses Ape, by the management of New Covenant Christian College.
He said such performance had justified the closure of illegal schools for genuine ones to operate just as he congratulated Master Ape for making Benue proud and the college for providing quality education.
While he enthused that such performance would place Benue on the global map of academic excellence he further assured Benue people of Ortom administration’s readiness to continue to create a conducive atmosphere that would guarantee quality education for all especially the Benue child in order to secure its future.
The Proprietor, New Covenant Christian College, Reverend Shikaan, said the college had raised students that scored above 300 in this year’s JAMB through quality teaching and conducive learning environment as well as zero tolerance for examination malpractice, pledging to maintain the tempo.
