RSG Accredits 1,415 Private Schools …Directs JAMB, WAEC, NECO To Take Action

As part of the state government’s determination to rid the state of sub-standard schools and provide quality education, the Rivers State Government, has given full accreditation status to 1,415 private schools to operate across the 23 local government areas in the state.
The state government also gave interim accreditation to 659 schools, while a total of 437 schools were denied accreditation to operate in the state.
The Committee for Accreditation and Approval of Private Schools gave these indications in its comprehensive report submitted to the state government.
In a statement made available to news men in Port Harcourt at the weekend, the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Tammy Danagogo, quoted the Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike as saying that the government took the action because it was concerned with the deteriorating standard in education in the state, and expressed commitment to ensure that private schools approved complied with standard and operate with appropriate facilities.
According to him, “We have no doubt that this report will help us sanitize the educational sector to create a state with high educational standards befitting for the growth and development of our children”.
He directed the Ministry of Education to swing into necessary action against schools denied accreditation, and urged parents and national examination bodies, including the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and National Examinations Council (NECO), among others, to take note of the new development.
He said that the state government has further gone ahead to publish list of all affected schools in The Tide Newspaper and Thisday Newspaper of Monday 25, 2019, to prove the seriousness of the government in making its decision public.
He urged parents and guardians who may want to enroll their children and wards into private schools operating in the state to be guided by the list, explaining that any school denied accreditation by the committee shall be regarded as illegal by the state government.
The state government further warned proprietors of the schools denied accreditation to shut down operation with immediate effect or be prepared to face prosecution by the government.
Speaking during the submission of the report, the Chairman of the committee, Prof. Ozo-Mekuri Ndimele, said, out of a total of 2,511 schools which applied for accreditation, 1,415 schools were fully accredited while 659 schools were granted interim accreditation, just as 437 schools were denied operational approval.
It would be recalled that the state government had early this year set up a Committee on Accreditation and Approval of Private Schools in the state chaired by the Vice Chancellor of Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Rumuolumeni, Prof Ozo Mekuri Ndimele, to among other things, visit the schools across the three senatorial zones in the state and make their recommendations to the state government for implementation.
A breakdown of local government by local government shows that Emohua has 16 approved private schools, Etche 87, Ikwerre 65, Obio/Akpor 768, Ogu/Bolo 2, Okrika 12, PHALGA 155, Oyigbo 105, Eleme 81, Khana 17, Tai 6, Gokana 6, Andoni 2 and Opobo/Nkoro 1.
For the interim accreditation, Oyigbo has 79, Eleme 14, Khana 19, Tai 2, Gokana 1, Andoni 4, Abua/Odual 1, Ahoada West 13, Akuku Toru 2, Asari Toru 1, Bonny 9, Degema 3, ONELGA 10, Emohua 18, Etche 20, Ikwerre 26, Obio/Akpor 359, Ogu/Bolo 1, Okrika 3 and PHALGA 60.
Similarly, Bonny has 16 private schools denied accreditation, ONELGA 7, Abua/Odual 1, Ahoada East 31, Asari Toru 2, Ahoada West 4, Akuku Toru 1, Degema 1, PHALGA 81, Omuma 1, Okrika 6, Obio/Akpor 184, Ikwerre 18, Etche 8, Emohua 10, Oyigbo 15, Eleme 24, Khana 2, Tai 9 and Gokana 6.
See list on pp7-36.