Chinedum Treasure
Anambra State Commissioner for Education, Prof. Ngozi Chuma-Udeh has called on private school proprietors to take advantage of the re-accreditation exercise by Federal Ministry of Education to secure approval for their institutions.
The Commissioner gave the advice at the 3rd Annual General Meeting of the Ministry of Education and All Private School Proprietors in the state, held at the Dora Akunyili Women Development Center, Awka.
She said schools that scaled through the exercise would immediately be approved by the State Ministry of Education, while those who failed to meet the requirements would face closure.
She said the essence of the engagement was to get the school heads prepared ahead of the exercise.
Expressing concern over high number of unapproved schools operating in the state, Chuma-Udeh maintained that running unapproved schools remained criminal offense.
She said, “The Federal has ordered some form of reassessment of schools. This is an opportunity for all unapproved schools to regularize their operations. Any proprietor who fails to comply will risk having his/her school shut down.
“We want to have accurate data of all the schools in the state to ensure every child in the state is accounted for. The data will also enable us to checkmate examination malpractices.
“We want to have a comprehensive educational system where the children attend schools with environments conducive for learning.”
The Commissioner further called on proprietors to cooperate with the federal government’s team conducting the annual school census, emphasizing that cooperation was essential to securing the state and its students’ fair share of federal resources.
“We also advise school owners to always request a letter of authorization from the state ministry to prevent unauthorized individuals from accessing school premises.
“Schools are sacrosanct, and their sanctity must be respected,” she warned.
Reacting to arbitrary fees being charged by some schools in the state, the Commissioner said, “this is their private business and we have no right to interfere. It’s a competitive arena. Some charge as high as N1million, while some N50,000. It depends on the parents capacity.
“That’s why Mr Governor has made free public schools tuition fees. If you can’t afford the exorbitant fees in private schools, then you register your wards in public schools.”
On bullying, she said, “I don’t think bullying exists in Anambra schools. It’s unacceptable in schools in the state and once such reports get to us, we act immediately.”
In their seperate remarks, leaders of various private school associations commended the Soludo-led administration for fostering inclusive governance and ensuring peace in the state’s educational sector despite security challenges across the country.
The meeting was attended by Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Dr. Ifeoma Agbaizu; Director of Schools, Mrs. Ifeoma Onyeneke; as well as other Directors and stakeholders in the education family.
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