The Ebonyi State Government yesterday shut over 700 private adult education centres in Abakaliki, the state capital. The government said it shut the schools because of their non-functionality.
Addressing journalists in his office, the Commissioner for Education, Mr. Ndubuisi Chibueze-Agbo, said the government revoked the licences alleged to have been given to the private adult education centres so as to sanitise education sector.
He said: “Information available to the Ministry of Education indicates that we have approved 700 private adult education centres by the Adult Mass Literacy and Non-formal Education parastatal of the ministry.
“Our investigation shows that 99 per cent of these centres are no more functional, they exist only on paper. We hereby revoke any approval purported to have been given to them.
“Any individual or organisation that wishes to operate such centre should provide the requisite infrastructure and apply to the relevant agency for inspection and approval.
Our resolve to sanitise the system is total. There is no going back”. The commissioner alleged that some proprietors and proprietress of primary and secondary schools in the state were now operating under pseudo names and locations in order to escape the consequences of their action. He said the government would not relent in its efforts shut illegal and substandard schools.
The commissioner said: “No matter the level of cover-ups and strategies put in place by operators of illegal and substandard schools across the 13 local government areas, the weight of the law will certainly catch up with them.
“Today, I make bold to state without any fear of contradiction that the positive impacts of our modest efforts are beginning to blossom and flourish.
“It is against this backdrop that it must be reiterated that we are still concerned as ever about the quality of education given to our children, hence the resolve to flush out all illegal and substandard schools.
This policy is irreversible and irrevocable “We are surprised that they now hide under new names and locations. Let me assure them that our dragnets have been spread to fish and flush them out no matter the names they bear and the locations they are operating from.
