Sub-Standard Schools Risk Shut Down …As Rivers Goes Tough On Ill-Equipped Institutions

Rivers State Government, says public and private schools,
that fail to meet the standard stipulated in the  state education quality assurance law would
be closed down.

Chairman of the House of Assembly Committee on Education,
Hon Augustine Ngo, made the disclosure Wednesday, during a public hearing on a
bill seeking to establish the state Education Quality Assurance Agency in Port
Harcourt.

Hon Ngo, said the law, when operational, the state
government would close down public or private schools that fail to meet
standard set for their existence by the
proposed law.

The lawmaker explained that some schools might be collapsed
or merged to strengthen them to achieve the requirements because some schools
were established merely on political grounds.

He debunked insinuations in some quarters that the proposed
law was targeted at witch-hunting private schools for possible close down,
particularly those owned by non-indigenes, pointing out that there was no
reason for private or public schools to exist if they did not meet required
standard.

The committee chairman noted that the state Governor, Rt Hon
Chibuike Amaechi, has demonstrated passion in trying to raise the standard of
education, hence, the provision of quality infrastructure, employment of more
teacher’s and the need to regulate quality.

According to him, the state House of Assembly appreciates
the importance of education, and the way forward remains to have a law that
would prescribe regulatory mechanism for the system.

He recalled that during a similar exercise on the bill,
participants recommended its repackaging, adding that public hearing allows the
public to make valid contributions that would enable the law to stand the test
of time.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Mr Richard
Ofuru, said the ministry was determined to achieve the best for the children of
the state, stressing that on assumption of office, the governor organised an
education summit and subsequently declared a state of emergency on the sector
based on the level of decay.

Mr Ofuru, hinted that when the bill is passed into law, the
agency would regulate maintenance   of
curriculum in both private and public schools while assuring that no staff
would lose his or her job as a result.

In his contribution, President, National Association of
Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Dr Peter Harrison, said the move was
laudable but urged the government not to use the instrument to witch- hunt
private schools owners.

Dr Harrison called for the harmonisation of fees charged by
private schools and set minimum standard to be met by their members while the
state government could provide world class structures.

The President, National Association of Principals of
Secondary Schools (ANCOPS), Dr Augusta Fubara, called for the re-introduction
of boarding school system in the state as the only way teachers could properly
monitor and control students.

She lamented the poor state of public secondary schools in
the state, and urged the government to renovate most of the schools to check a
situation where some teachers share space with students.