14th June, 2013
About 160 illegal private schools operating in Ogun State, southwest Nigeria, have been shut.
They were closed recently during an exercise conducted by the government as part of efforts to sanitise the education sector in the state.
The Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mr Segun Odubela, announced this Thursday in a statement issued in Abeokuta, the state capital.
The g overnment warned proprietors of private schools against sabotaging government’s efforts to rid the state of illegal and sub-standard schools.
He accused some proprietors of obstructing the operations of the team set up by the state government to clamp down on illegal schools and to conduct head count of students in private schools.
He said there was no consultation between the government and the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Ogun chapter, on any issue.
“We want to state categorically as a ministry, that at no point did officials of the ministry hold any consultation with any members of NAPPS or its exco on the issue of not paying renewal fees to government.”
He advised the proprietors to cooperate with the state government on the matter, adding “government will not hesitate to apply appropriate sanction on erring school proprietors.”
Odubela said that the exercise would curb the menace of illegal schools in the state. He noted that some individuals, whose structures and facilities did not meet the required standard, were insisting on operating illegal schools.