LAGOS THREATENS RECALCITRANT PRIVATE SCHOOLS WITH CLOSURE

Lagos State government says it will not hesitate to close any private schools in the State that do not meet the basic threshold.

The State Deputy Governor who also supervises the Ministry of Education, Dr (Mrs.) Idiat Oluranti Adebule who handed down the warning in Lagos State today at a stakeholders meeting with proprietors of private schools in the State noted that it has became imperative to strictly enforce laws guiding the operations of private schools in the state in order to ensure standard and orderliness in the sector.

Adebule decried the rot that has set-in into the operation of private schools in the state particularly in the conduct of external examinations as many a private school tends to encourage examination malpractices

According to the Deputy Governor, things can no longer be the same in the operation and regulation of private schools in the state hence she advocated for attitudinal change among all stakeholders.

Said she, ‘teachers are known for discipline, they are known for high values and moral. So government will no longer tolerable indiscipline in the operations and regulations of private schools in Lagos State’

She asserted that she looks forward to an improved working relationship between the state government and the proprietors of private schools in the state adding that government is more than determined to not only regulate the sector but in addition to show keen interest in whatever goes in the industry.

The Deputy Governor opined that the Office of Education Quality Assurance in the Ministry of Education has now been split into two for efficiency and effectiveness in order to strengthen the monitoring and supervision responsibilities of the Office.

Dr Adebule pointed out that government will soon undertake a census of private schools in the State adding that the state government was already working closely with the Department For International Development (DFID) to maintain high standard in the sector in the State.