The River State Commissioner for Education, Prof Prince Chinedu Mmom has said that all Private Schools operating in the State must get approval from the State Government or risk being closed.
The Commissioner made this statement on Thursday in Port Harcourt while addressing members of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools who were on a visit to the Government Girls Secondary School Oromenike. He frowned at some private schools operating in the state without registration or approval from the State Government.
According to a press release signed by Tochi Abinye Pepple, the Senior Information Officer for the commission, Mmom also said that while the State Government would continue to provide an enabling environment for private schools to operate, it was necessary for them to do so within the ambits of the laws of the State by registering with the state government.
The Commissioner also stated that all Private schools operating in Rivers state must register with the Rivers State government and that any that is not duly registered and accredited is illegal and risk being shut down.
The Commissioner further encouraged prompt payment of annual renewal fees to the state government through the recommended portal so as to obtain their certificate to avoid embarrassment during monitoring adding that those who want to upgrade the status of their schools should do so through the Quality Assurance Department of the Ministry.
On the registration of Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), the Commissioner urged the proprietors to provide the statistics of their students to the Ministry before 30th of October for preparetory documentation.
Prof. Mmom however commended the proprietors for complying with government directives on school resumption and in complimenting government’s efforts in providing quality education for their students while urging them to operate by the 2022/2023 academic calendar.
