The Anambra State Government has set a September deadline for all unaccredited private schools in the state to regularise their status or face closure.
The announcement was made by the Commissioner for Education, Prof. Ngozi Chuma-Udeh, during a stakeholders' meeting with private school proprietors in Awka on Friday.
Chuma-Udeh expressed frustration over the continued operation of unapproved schools, despite repeated warnings and an extended grace period granted by the state. She explained that the meeting aimed to understand the reasons behind the delay in obtaining approval.
“There are still many private schools in the state that have yet to be approved. The time given by the governor to shut down such schools has expired. If by the beginning of the first term these schools are still unapproved, we will close them down. That is what the law stipulates, and we have given enough grace,” she stated.
She added that although she had secured the governor's permission to extend the deadline and had held back enforcement by the task force, school proprietors continued to delay. “Even though I took permission from the governor to extend the time and I have been holding back the task force, the owners of the schools are still delaying,” she said.
During the meeting, some school owners complained about impersonators posing as government officials and attempting to extort money from them. In response, the commissioner promised to investigate the matter.
Reports indicate that the state government has identified no fewer than 2,000 unaccredited private schools operating across Anambra’s 21 local government areas.
