Benue shuts 2,219 schools over ‘poor standards’

The Benue state government says it has closed down 2,219 secondary schools in the state over poor standards.

Dannis Ityavyar, the state commissioner for education, science and technology, disclosed this on Tuesday in Makurdi, the state capital.

He was fielding questions from members of the house of assembly, who sought explanations over the dwindling standards of education in the state — the reason for the closure.

Ityavyar also said 19 tertiary institutions were closed down for the same reason.

He said the state government was working towards improving the quality of education as “mushroom schools” would not be allowed to operate.

The commissioner expressed regrets that government had not been able to regulate the fees paid in private primary and secondary schools.

“The only powers we have are limited to quality control; the owners of schools insist that we cannot dictate fees to them and there isn’t much that we can do,” he added.

He said some schools were charging N30,000 to register their students for West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) senior secondary schools examination as against the N13,500 charged by the examination body.

He continued: “It is a difficult situation because the parents are willing to pay. In the ministry, we are helpless.”

Speaking earlier, Terkimbi Ikyange, speaker of the house, lamented the high fees charged in schools across Benue.

He urged the ministry to step in to control the trend so as to reduce the effects on parents.