Benue Govt seals 2,416 illegal schools, including those in uncompleted buildings

The Benue State Government on Monday sealed the Benedictine Order of Peace and Unity Academy Foundation Nyiman, Makurdi, over failure to meet an approved standard.

The Director General (DG), of the Bureau for Education Quality Assurance (BEQA), Dr Terna Francis, who led the team, said the school was operating in an uncompleted hotel building.

Francis stated that from the structure, the school had no curriculum, lesson plan, scheme of work, or qualified teachers, and was operating three different schools within the uncompleted building.

The director added that the Benedictine Order Academy was not registered and the government did not approve its existence. He warned that the government would not allow any substandard school to exist in the state for the safety of the children and quality education.

According to him, BEQA has identified 2,416 illegal schools in the state and has already issued all the necessary notices to the proprietors to either meet the required standard or shut down.

“The risk involved in keeping children in such buildings cannot be overemphasised.

“As a government, as a regulatory body, we cannot allow anything harmful or evil to happen to these children of ours.

“That is why I’m here with the management of BEQA in collaboration with the GM Urban Development Board to seal the school.

“So going forward, this school no longer exists as a school. We are activating and invoking our powers to close down any school that does not meet the educational standard in the state.

“But for the purpose of these children who are already in school, we are going to allow them to stay till the close of school today,” he said.

He advised parents to withdraw their children from the school that has neither uniforms nor records and take them to government-approved institutions of learning within the state. The General Manager of Benue Urban Development Board, Ternongo Mede, said the uncompleted three-story building was not habitable for a learning environment.

Mede said every building must pass a fitness test for the desired purpose and urged the government to seal the school. However, the founder of the school, Rev. Fr. Elias Torugh, said they were working hard to meet the state educational requirements for operating a school.

Torugh said they were in the story building for only two weeks following their eviction from the Staff Development Centre by the state government.

The founder stated they were fully aware that the school does not have a conducive learning environment, but they planned to stay at the uncompleted hotel building for only this term. He claimed that they were members of the Catholic Church and the school was owned by the Benedictine Order, which he said was not associated with any Catholic diocese in the country.

“We ourselves know that this place is not conducive enough for learning. Our stay here is not permanent,” he added.

Torugh further said that the school, which has a nursery, primary, and secondary school, has a population of 942.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the team also monitored the resumption of schools and their performances at St. Joseph Primary School Nyiman, UBE Nyiman, and Padopads Harmony Secondary School, all in Makurdi.

NAN